By Kim Eun-young and Lee Hana

North Korean media outlets reported on June 13 that Chairman Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump signed a joint statement following their summit in Singapore.

In particular, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) wrote about President Trump’s decision to halt joint military exercises with Korea, reporting that this was at the request of the North.

The KCNA said that, “Chairman Kim and President Trump exchanged honest, in-depth and comprehensive opinions about ways to establish lasting and permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula. The two leaders agreed to cooperate on improving U.S.-North Korea relations and on establishing peace, prosperity and security on the Korean Peninsula and around the world.”

The KCNA noted that Chairman Kim said during the expanded bilateral meeting that, “Military drills that confront the other side and open hostilities should be suspended.”

“President Trump showed that he understood this issue and said that while talks continued, he would halt joint military exercises with Korea, providing security to North Korea. The president said that once better relations had been established through dialogue and negotiations, that the U.S. would be willing to remove sanctions against North Korea,” said Kim Jong Un, according to the KCNA.

The Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, also covered news of the joint statement over a four-page spread, with a photograph of the first handshake between Chairman Kim and President Trump on the front page.

eykim86@korea.kr