By Lee Hana

Following a summit in Singapore, U.S. President Donald Trump held a press conference at the Capella Hotel there on June 12 to outline key points of the joint statement that was signed between the U.S. and North Korea.

"The past 24 hours have been tremendous, almost as eventful as the past three months combined," said President Trump to describe the first-ever meeting between the two leaders.

The president stressed that the joint statement, which outlines details such as the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and establishing new U.S.-North Korea relations, affirms North Korea's commitment to "complete denuclearization."

"The statement was created over a process of several months, and the summit today was no surprise. The complete verifiable and irreversible dismantlement (CVID) of the North Korean nuclear program had been discussed, but there just wasn't enough time to discuss it this time," he said.

Furthermore, the president said, "Complete denuclearization takes time, even from a scientific standpoint, but Kim promised to destroy a major missile engine testing site." He added that this is a "big thing."

Regarding the denuclearization timeline, the president said, "As soon as next week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Advisor John Bolton will be meeting with the North Koreans to discuss these matters. The U.S. is also closely cooperating with South Korea, as well as China and Japan."

The president announced that the U.S. would halt "war games" as a measure that would guarantee safety for the Pyeongyang regime.

President Trump stated that he had shared the details of the joint statement with his friend, President Moon Jae-in, and that following the press conference, he would speak on the phone with President Moon to brief him on the day's summit.

A few hours ahead of the press conference, President Trump and Chairman Kim signed a joint statement following their summit.

hlee10@korea.kr