The officials of both North Korea and the United States are working on the details of the upcoming meeting between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un. The decision where will the talks be held is entirely on the US President, and he said that the location would be known in three days.
In most recent addressing to the press at the White House, Trump denied that he would be meeting Kim at the demilitarized zone (DMZ) which was dubbed as one of the possible locations. The only one remaining that was mentioned before is Singapore, and the way things stand now, the two presidents will meet there. But, we must say, at the moment, no decision is final nor made official.
The city-state in Southeast Asia is a location preferred by US officials, as they are looking to avoid places that are too close to Pyongyang. When asked about the exact location of the meeting between the two leaders White House declined to comment. But, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders stated that the date and location are already set: “I can tell you that a date and location are set but beyond that, I don’t have any other announcements at this point. But we expect that to be announced here in the next few days.”
North Korea Released US Prisoners
Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State, was in North Korea setting up the details of Trump/Kim meeting and also to arrange the release of the US citizens held in NK. Kim Jong Un agreed to release all three men.
The upcoming meeting between Kim and Trump will be the first time in history that leaders of these countries will meet in person. And releasing the three prisoners is a sign of goodwill by NK.
As for the location, Singapore seems like an ideal choice. The country is a long-time US ally, and it has US military presence on its soil. At the same time, it is only one of the 47 world countries that have a North Korean embassy.
Some officials on both sides preferred DMZ as the location because of its symbolism and photogenic advantages. Both of these were visible during the last week’s meet-up between the presidents of two Korea’s.
According to people from Trump administration, POTUS was delighted with ‘historic images’ that were taken during that meeting. In hours after Moon/Kim meeting, Trump talked about the possibility of seeing Kim eye-to-eye in DMZ, but the idea was scrapped.
Talking about the upcoming summit, Mr. President said: “Everything can be scuttled. A lot of good things can happen, a lot of bad things can happen. I believe that we have… both sides want to negotiate a deal. I think it’s going to be a very successful deal. Lots of things can happen. And, of course, you’ll be the first to know about it if it fails.”
Source: cnn.com
