News / Foreign Policy

Trump: Kim Jung-un is 'very honorable' person

Tuesday, 24 April 2018 5:04 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 24 April 2018 5:07 PM ]

North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un (L) and US president Donald Trump. (File photo)

US President Donald Trump has called North Korea Kim Jung-un's leader a "very honorable" person, expressing hope their meeting will occur "as soon as possible."

“He really has been very open and, I think, very honorable from everything we're seeing," Trump said of Kim on Tuesday.

"Unlike past administrations, I will leave the table. But I think we have the chance to do something very special," he said during a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House.

On Friday, Kim announced plans to stop the country's nuclear and missile tests and close a nuclear test site.

"From April 21, North Korea will stop nuclear tests and launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles," South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted North Korean state media as saying on Saturday.

Trump hailed the development in a tweet on Friday, saying, "North Korea has agreed to suspend all Nuclear Tests and close up a major test site. This is very good news for North Korea and the World - big progress! Look forward to our Summit." However, he said he would discuss sanctions relief with the North Korean leader only after Pyongyang gets rid of its nuclear arsenal.

PressTV-'Trump won’t lift bans unless N Korea denuclearizes'

A new report states that the US president wants North Korea’s Kim Jong-un to get rid of his entire nuclear arsenal before discussing sanctions.

Washington and Pyongyang have no diplomatic relations. The US has imposed many rounds of sanctions on North Korea, has substantial military presence near the country, and numerously threatened to invade it.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula were running high in 2017. Trump’s threats last year prompted North Korea to carry out its most powerful nuclear test to date and launch intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States

But Kim expressed sudden interest in the resolution of disagreements with the South on New Year’s Day, and a series of overtures began. Trump's rhetoric on Kim has also shifted significantly from last year, when he called the North Korean leader "rocket man."

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