U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Florida on April 17. (Yonhap News)
By Kim Young Shin
U.S. President Donald Trump talked about the schedule for the upcoming North Korea-U.S. summit during a press briefing before his bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in Florida on April 17.
The U.S. president said, “It will be taking place probably in early June or a little before, assuming things go well.” He also said that his administration is looking at five possible locations for the summit.
“[South and North Korea] are discussing an end to war. So, subject to a deal, they would certainly have my blessing. And they do have my blessing to discuss that,” Trump said. “People don’t realize the Korean War has not ended.”
He also said, “We have had direct talks at very high levels, extremely high levels, with North Korea.” Regarding his remarks, several U.S. newspapers, including the Washington Post, have said that Trump is referring to recent top-secret visits to North Korea by CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who is also the nominee to be secretary of state. Pompeo is acting as an envoy between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and it's reported that he visited Pyeongyang during the Easter weekend to discuss the North’s nuclear weapons programs.