President Trump will likely meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for the first time in Singapore, according to reports on Wednesday.
Sources told CNN that administration officials were in the process of moving ahead with plans to hold the summit in Singapore.
{mosads}The report comes hours after Trump ruled out the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), which separates North and South Korea, as a meeting place.
BREAKING: Trump officials prepare for a summit in Singapore with North Korea https://t.co/UDK7D9cmob https://t.co/xyujbgCKbA pic.twitter.com/g50M0luL4n
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) May 9, 2018
The Wall Street Journal noted that by ruling out the DMZ, the administration’s choice of Singapore became more likely.
Officials reportedly thought Singapore represented a more neutral meeting place, according to CNN.
White House officials said a date and location have been chosen but declined to reveal them. Some privately cautioned, however, that the final sign-off from Trump has not yet been given.
“I can tell you that a date and location are set, but, beyond that, I don’t have any other announcements at this point,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Wednesday, adding she expects an announcement in “the next few days.”
The meeting will be the first summit between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader.
Kim said on Wednesday that his upcoming meeting with Trump will be a positive step for Pyongyang and Seoul.
“He said that the coming DPRK-U.S. summit would be a historic meeting for the excellent first step toward promotion of the positive situation development in the Korean peninsula and building of a good future,” the Korean Central News Agency said, according to Yonhap News.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited North Korea this week where he secured the release of three prisoners being held by the country and took part in preparation for the upcoming meeting between Trump and Kim.
Updated at 6:26 p.m.