Trump to meet with Kim Jong Un at demilitarized zone

By Hakan Copur

WASHINGTON (AA) - The U.S. President Donald Trump will meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during his visit at Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between the North and South Korea.

Following the G20 summit in Japan, Trump arrived in South Korea and met his counterpart Moon Jae-in -- who will also be going to the DMZ on Sunday in the capital Seoul, and "toasted" new Trade Deal, "a far better one for us than that which it replaced," he said on Twitter.

"Today I will visit with, and speak to, our Troops - and also go to the DMZ (long planned). My meeting with President Moon went very well!" he added.

At a banquet in South Korea, Trump said he would like to "say hello" to Kim at the DMZ.

"I understand that they want to meet," he said. "It will be very short but that's OK. A handshake means a lot," he said.

While in Japan, Trump early on Saturday tweeted an offer of meeting North Korean leader Kim during his state visit to Seoul at DMZ.

"If Chairman Kim of North Korea sees this, I would meet him at the Border/DMZ just to shake his hand and say Hello(?)!," Trump tweeted from Japan’s western city of Osaka.

Pyongyang termed the offer “interesting suggestion” but said it did not receive a formal proposal for the meeting.

“Sure… I will have no problem in doing that [crossing into North Korea],” Trump told reporters during his press conference in Japan.

The two leaders first met in a historical summit held on June 12, 2018 in Singapore, where they discussed the nuclear disarmament of North Korea and having a lasting peace between countries.

The second meeting took place in Hanoi city of Vietnam late February; however, it quickly ended without bearing any fruits. Later, Trump said talks were not concluded as North Korean leader demanded all sanctions are lifted and the U.S. was not willing to do so.

* Writing and contribution by Jeyhun Aliyev and Ali Murat Alhas