Kim Jong-un optimistic about possible second summit with Donald Trump

Kim Jong-un with Donald Trump. File Photo

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was optimistic about holding "sooner or later" another summit with US President Donald Trump, state media reported on Monday.

Kim expressed satisfaction over the "productive" meeting he had in Pyongyang US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday, to whom he explained his "proposals for solving the denuclearization issue", the Korean Central News Agency said in its report. On his return from Pyongyang, Pompeo, for his part, said during a meeting on Sunday in Seoul with South Korean President Moon Jae-in that the talks had been "good and productive", adding that progress was made in denuclearization issues and that they had talks about holding "at the earliest date possible" a second US-North Korea summit, reports Efe news.

Pompeo also said that Washington and Pyongyang agreed to set up working groups to plan the future summit and the denuclearization process, and noted that both parties will continue to negotiate to determine the date and place of the second meeting between Kim and Donald Trump. According to the KCNA report, Kim praised the "positively developing" situation on the Korean peninsula in the meeting, during which "mutual stands were fully understood and opinions exchanged" between both parties.

Kim was convinced that "a great progress would surely be made in solving the issues of utmost concern of the world and in attaining the goal set forth at the last talks with the projected second North Korea-US summit talks as an occasion", the report added. Kim also expressed optimism about the continuity of "negotiations based on the deep confidence between the top leaders of both countries". Pompeo, meanwhile, said in Seoul that he had discussed with Kim the denuclearization measures that North Korea must carry out, possible visits of US representatives to North Korea and how the US could take corresponding measures.

At the moment Washington does not want to disclose more details on the recent talks in Pyongyang, since Pompeo himself had indicated in previous days that he would speak "about the details of the negotiation" himself so as not to compromise the process. During the inter-Korean summit in September, Pyongyang said it would dismantle the Yongbyon plant, its main nuclear facility, if Washington adopted "corresponding measures" based on what was agreed in the first Trump-Kim summit in Singapore. Both countries agreed in the summit to work towards the denuclearization of the regime in exchange for North Korea's security. However, their dialogue has been stalled since then due to the discrepancies over the disarmament process.

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