Trump on North Korea meeting: "We now have a date. And we have a location. We'll be announcing it soon." pic.twitter.com/KmIGUp1eC4
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) May 4, 2018
President Trump announced Friday that his administration has agreed to a date and a location for his expected meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
“We now have a date. And we have a location. We’ll be announcing it very soon,” Trump said from the White House lawn.
Trump predicted “very good things” from the meeting, which will be the first between a U.S. president and a North Korean leader since the end of the Korean War.
{mosads}Trump also addressed the ongoing negotiations for the release of three U.S. prisoners in North Korea.
“We’re having very substantive talks with North Korea,” Trump says. “And a lot of things have already happened, with respect to the hostages. And I think you’re going to be seeing very good things. As I said yesterday: Stay tuned.”
Trump’s comments come after erroneous reports on social media that claimed the Trump administration had secured the release of the three Americans.
Trump agreed to a meeting with the North Korean leader earlier this year and the president is expected to discuss the possible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula with Kim.
The initial announcement of such an unprecedented summit shocked many in Washington and around the world after months of escalated tensions between the U.S. and North Korea.
North Korea has reportedly agreed to halt tests of its controversial nuclear missile program in preparation for the talks, while North Korean and South Korean leaders have recently begun an unprecedented level of cooperation.
The two countries’ closer ties seem to stem from the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, held in South Korea in February, which featured a unified North-South Korean team for the first time since war divided the two countries.