President Trump announced Thursday that he will meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on June 12 in Singapore.
The highly anticipated meeting between Kim Jong Un and myself will take place in Singapore on June 12th. We will both try to make it a very special moment for World Peace!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 10, 2018
Trump tweeted the announcement hours after he greeted three recently freed American hostages held by North Korea for crimes against the state, celebrating the hostages’ safe return at Andrews Air Force Base. In his remarks there, he struck an optimistic tone regarding his upcoming meeting with Kim.
“I think that we’re going to have…a very big success….I really think we have a very good chance of doing something very meaningful,” Trump said of the summit.
Asked whether the safe return of the hostages represented his proudest achievement as president, Trump said it was “a great honor,” but emphasized the ultimate goal of North Korean denuclearization.
“It’s a great honour. But the true honour is going to be if we have a victory in getting rid of nuclear weapons.” he told reporters on the tarmac shortly after the freed hostages arrived.
The historic summit, which was preceded by a meeting between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Kim last month, will be the first between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean head of state.
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