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UN Steamed up Amid Trump Plans to Meet N Korea Leader Kim Jong-un

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US President Donald Trump reaffirmed his plans to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a phone call will South Korean President Moon Jae-in, the White House said in a press release.
Sputnik

"President Donald J. Trump spoke today with President Moon Jae-in of the Republic of Korea to discuss ongoing efforts to prepare for their upcoming engagements with North Korea. President Trump reiterated his intention to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un by the end of May," the White House press release said.

Both Trump and Moon agreed "concrete actions, not words" is the key to denuclearizing the Korean peninsula, the release said.

The two leaders also said the maximum pressure campaign against North Korea will continue with close coordination between their countries, the release stated.

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Moon and Kim are scheduled to meet in late April in the demilitarized zone on the southern side of the border village of Panmunjeom.

The White House said on Thursday that it is working out the details of a meeting between Trump and Kim in May.

Meanwhile, US Deputy Secretary John Sullivan and Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono agreed during a meeting in Washington, DC that the upcoming US-North Korea summit in May represents a historic chance to achieve denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the Department of State said in a press release.

"Both sides agreed that the announcement of a meeting between President [Donald] Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is a historic opportunity. Sullivan and Foreign Minister Kono agreed that international pressure on the DPRK must be maintained until the DPRK takes credible, verifiable, and concrete steps toward denuclearization," the release said. 

UN Ready to Assist US-NKorea Negotiations

"We are ready to play whatever role we can play to be helpful in this process. Beyond that, it is ultimately up to the United States and the Democratic Republic of Korea to determine what they want from us," spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters.

Haq added that the United Nations would first have to see what the parties themselves want.

On March 5-6, a high-ranking South Korean delegation visited North Korea for talks with Kim Jong Un. After the delegation's return, the South Korean presidential office announced that Seoul and Pyongyang had reached a historic agreement on holding the third ever summit of the countries' leaders in late April.

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South Korean diplomats have delivered a message from Kim to US President Donald Trump expressing the willingness to hold direct talks. Trump accepted the invitation to meet with Kim by the end of May.

Trump has expressed hope that the summit will ultimately lead to the complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

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