Singapore says its foreign minister will visit Pyongyang later this week, just days before the city-state hosts the leaders of North Korea and the U.S. for a highly anticipated summit,
Foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan plans to be in North Korea for two days starting Thursday. Singapore has diplomatic ties with both the U.S. and North Korea.
President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will meet in Singapore on June 12. The White House says the summit will be held at the Capella hotel on Sentosa Island.
On Tuesday, Trump expressed hope the talks in Singapore will be “the start of something big… we will soon see!”
U.S. and North Korean officials are continuing to lay the groundwork ahead of the summit.
Trump met last week at the White House with Kim Jong Un’s top deputy, Kim Yong Chol, who delivered a letter from the North Korean leader.
The U.S. leader has in the past called for a quick denuclearization process but after his talks with the top North Korean official on Friday he said “Take your time.”
“We’re not going to go in and sign something on June 12th and we never were. We’re going to start a process,” Trump said.
He made clear, however, that sanctions on North Korea will not be lifted until the country agrees to give up its nuclear arsenal.