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Trump: US will maintain maximum pressure on North Korea until it denuclearizes

Wednesday, 28 March 2018 5:32 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 28 March 2018 6:58 PM ]

US President Donald Trump arrives at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on March 25, 2018. (AFP photo)

US President Donald Trump says his planned meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will go forward, but the policy of pressure and sanctions against Pyongyang will continue “at all cost” until it denuclearizes.

In a Twitter message on Wednesday, Trump also said the recent meeting between China’s President Xi Jinping and Kim went very well.

“Received message last night from XI JINPING of China that his meeting with KIM JONG UN went very well and that KIM looks forward to his meeting with me,” Trump wrote.

“In the meantime, and unfortunately, maximum sanctions and pressure must be maintained at all cost,” he added.

After several days of speculation, China announced on Wednesday that Kim has met Xi in Beijing, where Kim reportedly made a pledge to dismantle North Korea’s nuclear program.

The trip was Kim’s first known journey abroad since he took over power in 2011.

The White House said on Tuesday that Beijing briefed Trump on the meetings and that the denuclearization pledge was “further evidence that our campaign of maximum pressure is creating the appropriate atmosphere for dialogue with North Korea.”

Earlier this month, Trump unexpectedly agreed to meet Kim but details of potential talks have not been made public. The White House has said they will only happen if North Korea keeps “several promises.”

China, Russia and South Korea have welcomed the possible Trump-Kim summit, which would be the first between a North Korean leader and a sitting US president.

PressTV-US isolation strategy against N Korea working: Pence

US Vice President Mike Pence says North Korea’s invitation to Trump for talks shows that the American strategy to isolate Pyongyang is working.

Tensions were running high between Washington and Pyongyang over North Korea's missile and nuclear programs.

Trump and Kim have repeatedly traded insults and threats of military attacks that raised fears of a war between Pyongyang and Washington in recent months.

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