Kim Jong-un has responded positively to a proposal to meet at the border between South and North Korea, Donald Trump has claimed, contradicting studies that Pyongyang continues to be ready for the US to lengthen an official invitation.
“I understand that we may be meeting with Chairman Kim,” Trump stated during a press convention marking the tip of the G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan on Saturday. “Kim Jong-un was very receptive. He responded, so we’ll see.”
Trump is scheduled to fly to South Korea, the place he’s slated to go to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating South and North Korea. The US president signaled late Friday that he was eager about meeting Kim at the border “just to shake his hand and say hello.”
However, Pyongyang is reportedly nonetheless ready for Trump to make the provide official.
“We see it as a very interesting suggestion, but we have not received an official proposal in this regard,” North Korean first Vice-Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui stated in a press release.
The potential rendezvous comes amid studies that South Korea is working behind the scenes to put together a 3rd summit between the US and North Korean leaders. Trump and Kim met final in Hanoi, Vietnam in February. The summit ended early after the 2 failed to attain an settlement on lifting sanctions.