Is this legal? No farangs welcome...

[webfact]

Trump to visit South Korea as Pompeo raises hope for new North Korea talks after letter

By Hyonhee Shin and Jeff Mason

 

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he departs for Camp David from the White House in Washington, U.S., June 22, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

 

SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump will visit South Korea this weekend after an exchange of letters with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un boosted hopes for talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear programme.

 

Trump is set to arrive in South Korea for a two-day visit on Saturday, and will meet President Moon Jae-in on Sunday, following a summit of G20 leaders in Japan, Moon's spokeswoman, Ko Min-jung, said.

 

The announcement comes hours after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he hoped a letter Trump sent to Kim could pave the way for a revival of stalled nuclear talks.

 

Trump and Moon would have "in-depth discussions on ways to work together to foster lasting peace through the complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, while strengthening the two countries' alliance", Ko told a news briefing on Monday.

 

Pompeo, who spoke of Trump's letter to Kim before departing from Washington for the Middle East, said the United States was ready to resume talks with North Korea immediately.

 

"I'm hopeful that this will provide a good foundation for us to begin ... these important discussions with the North Koreans," Pompeo told reporters.

 

Japanese media reported over the weekend that Trump may go to the demilitarised zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas. He wanted to visit the zone during a 2017 trip to South Korea but heavy fog prevented it.

 

A former South Korean unification minister, Chung Se-hyun, who has advised Moon on relations with North Korea, said in a radio interview on Monday that it was possible for Trump to meet Kim in the DMZ.

 

Kim and Moon held their historic first summit in the DMZ last year. But Ko said details of Trump's itinerary had not been finalised.

 

Trump and Kim held their first, ground-breaking summit in Singapore in June last year, agreeing to establish new relations and work towards the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

 

But a second summit in Vietnam in February collapsed when the two sides were unable to bridge differences between U.S. demands for denuclearisation and North Korean demands for sanctions relief.

 

'EXCELLENT'

With talks stalled, tension mounted last month when the North test-fired a series of short-range ballistic missiles, though Trump and South Korea both played won the tests.

 

One June 11, Trump said he had received a very warm, "beautiful" letter from Kim, adding he thought something positive would happen.

 

North Korea's state news agency KCNA said on Sunday Kim had received a letter from Trump, which he described as being "of excellent content", but did not disclose any details.

 

KCNA said Kim "would seriously contemplate the interesting content".

 

Shin Beom-chul, a senior fellow at the Asian Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul, said Trump may have proposed a new round of working-level talks but a major breakthrough was not likely for now.

 

"North Korea has to show what the final state of denuclearisation would look like and what roadmap it has toward that end, but it's not desirable to reopen talks just to manage the situation after recent weapons tests," Shin told Reuters.

 

A U.S. official said on Wednesday the United States had no pre-conditions for talks, but progress would require meaningful and verifiable North Korean steps to abandon its nuclear weapons programme.

 

Pompeo did not discuss the contents of Trump's letter, but said the United States had been working to lay foundations for discussions since the Hanoi summit was abruptly ended by Trump.

 

"I think we're in a better place," Pompeo said.

 

Asked if working-level discussions would begin soon, Pompeo said: "I think the remarks you saw out of North Korea this morning suggest that may well be a very good possibility. We're ready to go, we're literally prepared to go at a moment's notice if the North Koreans indicate that they're prepared for those discussions."

 

Pompeo will join Trump at the G20 summit and accompany him to Seoul, after stops in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to consult the U.S. allies on growing tension with Iran.

 

(Reporting by Jeff Mason and David Lawder in WASHINGTON and Hyonhee Shin in SEOUL; Additional reporting by Lesley Wroughton in WASHINGTON and Joyce Lee and Do-gyun Kim in SEOUL; Editing by Daniel Wallis Robert Birsel)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-06-24

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[Tug]

Oh boy here we go again Donald going in with no bargains chips in his hand and little Kim knowing he is desperate for a (win)setting up another fail imo(would be delighted to be wrong)

[Srikcir]

19 hours ago, webfact said:

the United States had no pre-conditions for talks, but progress would require meaningful and verifiable North Korean steps to abandon its nuclear weapons programme.

"would require" is a pre-condition.

This is not even "double speak" but simply Trump saying he must be in control of any talks.

The Art of a Dead Deal.

[jany123]

22 hours ago, webfact said:

One June 11, Trump said he had received a very warm, "beautiful" letter from Kim, adding he thought something positive would happen.

Aw..... that sneaky wee kimmy.... tickling the trouts belly with his Foo Manchu finger nails.... lolling it into a lurve trance... crooning “I ran, I ran so fast I ran, Iran Iran Iran.” Into the trouts shell like earhole, whilst enjoying the ambiance of the echo chamber of the trouts empty head.

 

“sticky notes? Who left sticky notes in here? Are we supposed to leave sticky notes, now?”... Kim was overheard asking.

Edited June 25, 2019 by jany123

[Morch]

6 hours ago, Srikcir said:

"would require" is a pre-condition.

This is not even "double speak" but simply Trump saying he must be in control of any talks.

The Art of a Dead Deal.

 

Can you envisage a denuclearization agreement which doesn't include these elements?

 

[Mavideol]

Trump will never make a deal with NK, China, Iran, etc., he doesn't know how to deal with countries that have historical traditions and their own way of making deals, Trump, mainly,  is used to deal with New Yorker's, NK, China, Iran may be willing to make a deal but he has to slow down on his approach, these people need to save face in the public eye, with them a deal can and should be made in private and not spill the beans all the time as he does, they don't like and are not used to make their deals public, say as little as possible and above all do not provide details of the negotiations. Last week Xi visited NK, quite sure they made some good deals and agreements, did any of it become public? that's how they work, they may stab one another in the back but they keep smiling, look at Iran, a proud nation, very old Persian civilization where showing off is a must, they like to display their richness even if they are poor but they will put on a show when and if necessary, should never treat them as 3rd world or act like they are a inferior race, that will never sit well with them, overall Trump's advisers haven't advise him very well and that's why no deals are made, NK, China and Iran keep running the clock, he did try to make a deal with Canada and Mexico by using threatening methods, it may temporary or partially worked but future will tell. Trump try to amend the US has with Japan, South Korea, Philippines but nothing has changed other than Philippines moving closer to China.... Trump has to stop making a storm out of a small drop. The  world has been making deals when Trump was not around and they will keep making deals when he will be gone, he should learn how to be humble and understand that I deal can only be a good deal if it's good for all parties involved, not a one way deal

[Tug]

Mavideol sir Donald doesent listen to advice the fool thinks he knows it all that’s one of his major weakness the dude is the wrong man for the job

[Trouble]

I think all too often news reporters and commentators make more out of things than really exist.  Trump is visiting So Korea for talks with Moon.  Makes sense while he is there. Pompeo made remarks to reporters that the exchange of cordial letter had occurred so hoping for more talks. So seems like reporters want to take it a step further by speculating on a possible meeting no one has made a mention of.  If it happens great but why does Reuters have to write a story based on their speculation. I would rather get news with facts after the a meeting not based on speculation. Nothing here really. Seems it's all for the headline.