Advertisement

Kim Jong Un, Trump agree to push forward on denuclearization dialogue: state media

Click to play video: 'North Korea lauds Trump meeting as chance for ‘breakthrough’'
North Korea lauds Trump meeting as chance for ‘breakthrough’
WATCH ABOVE: North Korea lauds Trump meeting as chance for ‘breakthrough’ – Jul 1, 2019

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed at their meeting on Sunday to push forward dialog for making a new breakthrough in the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, North Korean state media said on Monday.

Trump became the first sitting U.S. president to set foot in North Korea on Sunday when he met Kim in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between the two Koreas and agreed to resume stalled nuclear talks.

WATCH: Donald Trump has become the first sitting U.S. President to enter North Korea.

Click to play video: 'President Trump’s historic crossing into North Korea'
President Trump’s historic crossing into North Korea

“The top leaders of the two countries agreed to keep in close touch in the future, too, and resume and push forward productive dialogs for making a new breakthrough in the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and in the bilateral relations,” KCNA news agency said.

Story continues below advertisement

The meeting, initiated by a tweet by Trump that Kim said took him by surprise, displayed the rapport between the two, but analysts said they were no closer to narrowing the gap between their positions since they walked away from their summit in February in Vietnam.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters shortly before departing South Korea that a new round of talks would likely happen “sometime in July” and the North’s negotiators would be foreign ministry diplomats.

WATCH: After their surprise meeting, U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have promised to keep talking. But as Jackson Proskow reports, there are fresh concerns the U.S. may be willing to make major concessions to get some sort of denuclearization deal.

Click to play video: 'Fears about U.S. making concessions over nuclear talks with North Korea'
Fears about U.S. making concessions over nuclear talks with North Korea

In a photo released by KCNA on Monday, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho and Pompeo are shown sitting next to Kim and Trump respectively in Freedom House, the building in which the two leaders had their one-on-one talks.

Story continues below advertisement

KCNA said that during the chat between Trump and Kim, the two leaders explained “issues of easing tensions on the Korean peninsula,” “issues of mutual concern and interest which become a stumbling block in solving those issues,” and “voiced full understanding and sympathy.”

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Get daily National news

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Kim said it was the good personal relationship he had with Trump that made such a dramatic meeting possible at just one day’s notice and that the relationship with Trump would continue to produce good results, according to KCNA.

WATCH: Trump becomes first sitting U.S. president to step into North Korea

Click to play video: 'Trump becomes first sitting U.S. president to step into North Korea'
Trump becomes first sitting U.S. president to step into North Korea

The two leaders’ “bold, brave decision” that led to the historic meeting “created unprecedented trust between the two countries” that had been tangled in deeply rooted animosity, KCNA said.

Story continues below advertisement

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the meeting between Trump and Kim and “fully supports the continued efforts of the parties to establish new relations towards sustainable peace, security and complete and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

China also welcomed the meeting, with a foreign ministry spokesman describing it as “constructive and achieving positive results.”

But problems could lie ahead.

WATCH: Mike Pompeo says fresh round of US-North Korea talks likely in July

Click to play video: 'Mike Pompeo says fresh round of US-North Korea talks likely in July'
Mike Pompeo says fresh round of US-North Korea talks likely in July

“The fact that the nuclear talks have jump-started is very encouraging, but that doesn’t mean that the two sides have already adjusted their positions and set the conditions for successful working-level negotiations,” said Kim Hyun-wook, a professor at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy.

Story continues below advertisement

Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, dismissed a report in The New York Times on Monday that Washington is seeking to soften its approach, floating an idea of accepting a nuclear freeze – instead of complete dismantlement – and giving tacit recognition that North Korea is a nuclear state.

“I read this NYT story with curiosity,” Bolton said in a tweet. “Neither the [National Security Council] staff nor I have discussed or heard of any desire to ‘settle for a nuclear freeze by NK.’ This was a reprehensible attempt by someone to box in the President. There should be consequences.”

Sponsored content

AdChoices