Trump says summit with N. Korea to happen early next year: Yonhap

By Lim Chang-won Posted : November 8, 2018, 07:53 Updated : November 8, 2018, 07:53

[AP/Yonhap News Photo]


WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he expects to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un "sometime early next year." Trump's remarks came hours after the U.S. announced the postponement of Thursday's scheduled meeting between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and North Korean officials in New York.

"We're very happy how it's going with North Korea," Trump said at a White House press conference on Tuesday's midterm elections, adding that the meeting will be rescheduled. He attributed the sudden cancellation to "trips that are being made," but did not elaborate. "We think it's going fine," Trump said. "We're in no rush. We're in no hurry. The sanctions are still on."

Pompeo and Kim Yong-chol, a close aide to the North Korean leader, were expected to continue talks on dismantling the regime's nuclear weapons program and arranging a second summit between the leader and Trump.

Asked if he still plans to have the second summit, the U.S. president said, "Sometime next year, I would say. Sometime early next year." The State Department provided no explanation for the meeting's postponement.

In a statement released at midnight, the department said the two sides "will reconvene when our respective schedules permit." "Ongoing conversations continue to take place," it said. "The United States remains focused on fulfilling the commitments agreed to by President Trump and Chairman Kim at the Singapore Summit in June."
(Yonhap)
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