Kim Jong Un seeks 'early' second date with Donald Trump

(From left) Kim Jong Un and his wife Ri Sol Ju, pose with Moon Jae-in and his wife Kim Jung-sook. Pic/AFP

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is hoping for a second summit with US President Donald Trump soon, the South's President Moon Jae-in said Thursday after a three-day trip to his neighbour.

"Chairman Kim Jong Un expressed hopes for a second summit with President Trump at an early date," Moon told reporters on his return to Seoul. Kim and Trump held a historic and high-profile meeting in Singapore in June, where the North's leader committed to work towards denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, but no details were agreed.

Experts were sceptical but the Trump administration immediately welcomed the move, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo inviting his North Korean counterpart to meet next week on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. Kim also hoped Pompeo would soon visit the North again, Moon said, and was seeking "fast progress in denuclearisation".

US ready for talks
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Thursday said America is ready to restart negotiations with Pyongyang, with the aim of denuclearising North Korea by 2021. "This will mark the beginning of negotiations to transform the US-DPRK relations," he said.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever