U.S. President Donald Trump expressed optimism about the commitments North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made during a historic summit with his South Korean counterpart on Friday.
“No, I don’t think he’s playing, I don’t think he’s playing,” Trump said at the White House, alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel. “It’s never gone this far.”
Kim on Friday became the first North Korean leader to step foot in South Korea, when he crossed the border to shake the hand of South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
The two leaders agreed to work toward removing all nuclear weapons from the Korean peninsula. They also vowed to pursue talks that would bring a formal end to the Korean war.
North Korea has in the past made similar commitments about its nuclear program, but failed to follow through. Asked whether Pyongyang’s commitment is real this time, Trump said “we’re not going to get played.”
“This isn’t like past administrations. We don’t play games,” said Trump, adding that previous administrations had been “played like a fiddle.”
The summit, which comes weeks ahead of a possible Kim-Trump meeting, represents a remarkable step back from what many had considered to be the brink of nuclear war.
Trump said the U.S. will be “setting up a meeting very shortly,” but didn’t specify a timeline. He said officials are considering two or three possible sites for the summit, but didn’t mention which ones.
“We will come up with a solution, and if we don’t we will leave the room,” Trump added.
The talks come after the Trump administration ramped up what it called a “maximum pressure” campaign on North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program.
The campaign included heavy sanctions and threats of military force. Trump had said he was prepared to “totally destroy” North Korea if necessary.
For now, those threats have faded. But it’s not clear how much North Korea is willing to offer at the talks or what it will demand in return.
On Friday, Moon and Kim’s statement said the two leaders “confirmed the common goal of realizing, through complete denuclearization, a nuclear-free peninsula.”
After the meeting, Trump tweeted his support for the talks, saying “good things are happening, but only time will tell!”
Fifteen minutes later, Trump tweeted: “KOREAN WAR TO END! The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea!”
Wayne Lee contributed to this story
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