Following a visit to the White House by North Korean envoy, Kim Yong Chol, President Trump announced that the previously canceled summit with Kim Jong Un was back on schedule, and would take place in Singapore on June 12. 

Trump said that a letter hand delivered by Former North Korean spy chief Kim Yong Chol was “very nice,” and “very interesting,” but that it would be inappropriate to release its contents. The President also said that it would be a big mistake if the summit did not take place, and that while sanctions were discussed during Friday’s meeting, North Korea’s human rights abuses were not brought up. 

 

While nothing will be signed at the June 12 summit, Trump did say that North Korea says it will denuclearize, and that the meeting will be one step in the process. 

Kim Yong Chol arrived at the White House earlier in the day, and was greeted on the south side of the building by Chief of Staff John Kelly before the pair walked into side – the first visit by such a high ranking official in at least 18 years. 

Full highlights from Trump’s speech courtesy of Bloomberg and Reuters:

  • TRUMP SAYS WILL BE MEETING JUNE 12 IN SINGAPORE
  • TRUMP: NORTH KOREA SUMMIT TO TAKE PLACE JUNE 12 IN SINGAPORE
  • TRUMP: JUNE 12 MEETING IN SINGAPORE WILL BE `A BEGINNING’
  • TRUMP: NORTH KOREA WANTS TO DEVELOP AS A COUNTRY, WE’LL HELP
  • TRUMP: WE DISCUSSED ENDING WAR STATUS AS PART OF N. KOREA TALK
  • TRUMP: WOULD BE MAKING BIG MISTAKE IF WE DIDN’T HAVE KIM MEET
  • TRUMP SAYS KIM’S LETTER WAS A `VERY NICE LETTER’
  • TRUMP SAYS SANCTIONS DISCUSSED IN N. KOREAN ENVOY MEETING
  • TRUMP: NOTHING WILL BE SIGNED IN KIM MEETING, IT’S A PROCESS
  • TRUMP: I LOOK FORWARD TO DAY WHEN N. KOREA SANCTIONS CAND END
  • TRUMP: `WE DID NOT TALK ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS’ IN N. KOREA MEETING
  • TRUMP SAYS RELATIONSHIP WITH NORTH KOREA AS GOOD AS IT’S BEEN
  • TRUMP: WE DISCUSSED ENDING WAR STATUS AS PART OF N. KOREA TALK
  • TRUMP SAYS BELIEVES TRANSFORMATION OF NORTH KOREA CAN TAKE PLACE WITH KIM AS LEADER: RTRS

And then this bizarre twist:

  • TRUMP SAYS HE HASN’T OPENED KIM LETTER YET

Which is odd because just minutes earlier he said:

  • TRUMP SAYS LETTER FROM KIM JONG UN WAS A VERY NICE LETTER, VERY INTERESTING LETTER

Huh? Yup: president Trump said he hasnot yet read the letter to him from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un despite announcing that their summit is back on and moments earlier saying the letter was “very nice.”

“I haven’t seen the letter yet,” Trump told reporters outside the White House. “I purposely didn’t open the letter. I haven’t opened it. I didn’t open it in front of the director. I said, ‘Would you want me to open it?’ He said, ‘You can read it later.’ I may be in for a big surprise.”

Oh well.

Finally, as for whether North Korea will denuclearize, he said “I think they want to do that, I know they want to do that. They want other things along the line. They want to develop as a country.”

 

* * *

Earlier: A top envoy from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived at the White House on Friday for a meeting with President Donald Trump – the first visit by such a high ranking official in at least 18 years.

Former North Korean spy chief Kim Yong Chol was greeted on the south side of the White House by Chief of Staff John Kelly before the pair walked into the White House. Yong Chol was sent to hand deliver a letter from Kim Jong Un during the meeting. 

 

 

The letter from Mr. Kim was described as fairly basic, according to one foreign government official who was briefed on the contents. It expresses the North Korean leader’s interest in meeting without making any significant concessions or threats. The Kim lieutenant delivering the letter, Gen. Kim Yong Chol, who is under U.S. sanctions for his role in cyberattacks against American companies, is expected to remain in the U.S. until Saturday, the official said. –WSJ

The visit follows two days of meetings in New York between the North Korean envoy and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who made clear that the United States will require North Korea completely denuclearize.

 

In comments to reporters Thursday before boarding Air Force One for a trip to meet with families affected by a school shooting earlier this month, President Trump said that talks between US and North Korean diplomats were going “very well.”

The White House visit comes on the heels of a dramatic turn of events after President Trump abruptly canceled a summit planned for last week, citing anger and hostility from North Korea. 

The North Korean government immediately responded. In a statement issued by state-run Korean Central News Agency, citing Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan, North Korea announced it was willing to sit with the U.S. “whenever, however” through any method to try to resolve the outstanding issues.

Gwan said that whereas President Trump’s announcement to one-sidedly cancel the planned summit is unexpected and very regrettable, “North Korea’s goal and will to do everything for peace and stability of the Korean peninsula and mankind remains unchanged, and we are always willing to give time and opportunity to the US side with a big and open mind,” according to the statement. He added that “We express our intent that there is a willingness to sit at any time, in any way to resolve issues” and noted that President Trump’s decision to cancel the summit is “not what the world wants” and the summit is necessary to resolve the current hostile bilateral relationship.

This article appeared at ZeroHedge.com at:  https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-06-01/top-north-korean-official-visits-white-house-most-significant-meeting-18-years

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