President Donald Trump is citing “possible progress” in talks with North Korea, but says it may also be “false hope.”

Nonetheless, Trump adds that a “serious effort” is being made by all sides.

Trump commented Tuesday on Twitter after the South Korean government announced that North Korea has agreed to halt tests of nuclear weapons and missiles if it holds talks with the U.S. on denuclearization. South Korea and North Korea have also agreed to hold summit talks in late April.

Trump tweeted: “Possible progress being made in talks with North Korea. For the first time in many years, a serious effort is being made by all parties concerned. The World is watching and waiting! May be false hope, but the U.S. is ready to go hard in either direction! </s> U.S. President Donald Trump says the United States has begun direct high level talks with North Korea. The statement comes weeks before a proposed summit between Trump and North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, visiting Trump for bilateral talks, expressed a desire for Japan's interests to also be on the table during the talks. VOA's Jesusemen Oni has more. </s> Palm Beach (United States): US president Donald Trump on Wednesday hailed a "great" clandestine meeting between his CIA chief and North Korea's leader, as he signalled that his improbable summit with Kim Jong-un will go ahead.

News of the Easter weekend talks between Mike Pompeo and the reclusive Kim was the latest in a series of revelations from the US leader that have fuelled hopes of a major diplomatic breakthrough with Pyongyang.

Heaping praise on Pompeo — the man he has already tapped to be the next secretary of state — Trump said the 54-year-old's covert mission to the North Korean capital had gone well.

"He just left North Korea. Had a great meeting with Kim Jong Un, and got along with him really well, really great," Trump said. "He's very smart but he gets along with people."

Trump earlier tweeted that the "meeting went very smoothly and a good relationship was formed."

"Details of Summit are being worked out now," added the president, who is hosting Japan's prime minister Shinzo Abe for two days of talks at his Florida retreat, which he calls the "Winter White House."

Neither Trump nor the White House offered details of what was discussed and it remains unclear if there is enough potential for an agreement to have the Trump-Kim summit, slated for early June, go ahead.

Officials and outside experts say it is still not clear that Kim, who depends on the military to remain in power, is willing to completely give up his nuclear weapons.

North Korean talk of "denuclearization" — which Trump has seemingly embraced — has in the past been code for removing America's military presence on the Korean peninsula, something long unthinkable in Washington.

"Denuclearization will be a great thing for World, but also for North Korea!" Trump added in the tweet.

Nonetheless, the flurry of diplomatic activity has raised hopes for a pair of upcoming and potentially historic summits.

Kim is expected to meet South Korea's president Moon Jae-in next week for landmark talks at which discussion of a formal peace declaration is now on the cards.

The 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty, leaving the two sides technically at war. The Demilitarised Zone between them bristles with minefields and fortifications.

Seoul's push to formally declare an end to inter-Korean hostilities would have been unthinkable just months ago.

"We are looking at the possibility of replacing the armistice regime on the Korean peninsula with a peace regime," a senior official at South Korea's presidential Blue House said on Wednesday.

"But this is not something we can do by ourselves. It needs close discussions with relevant parties including North Korea."

Trump earlier said that the summit could, with his "blessing," explore a peace treaty to formally end the conflict.

But reaching any final treaty would be fraught with complications.

While the US-led United Nations command, China and North Korea are signatories to the decades-old armistice, South Korea is not.

Both Pyongyang and Seoul claim sovereignty over the whole Korean peninsula, but a treaty could imply mutual recognition of each other.

Next week's meeting will be just the third summit between the North and South since the armistice was signed 65 years ago.

Key moments including Kim and Moon's first handshake will be televised live, both sides agreed at working-level talks on Wednesday, Seoul said.

Trump himself plans to hold a summit meeting with Kim within the next two months.

The pair have not spoken directly, the White House said, but the president revealed on Tuesday there had been contact at "very high levels" to prepare for the historic meeting - an apparent reference to Pompeo's visit.

Trump also said that "five locations" were being considered for the summit.

"That will be taking place probably in early June or before that, assuming things go well. It's possible things won't go well and we won't have the meetings and we'll just continue to go on this very strong path we have taken."

US officials say that no decision has yet been made on a meeting venue, but China, North Korea, South Korea, and Panmunjom in the Demilitarised Zone are seen as possible locations. </s> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had been "very honourable" and that discussions ahead of a planned meeting between the two leaders were going well.

"We have been told directly that they would like to have the meeting as soon as possible, and we think that's a great thing for the world," Trump told reporters during a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House.

"We're having ... very good discussions. Kim Jong Un, he really has been very open and I think very honourable from everything we're seeing," Trump added.

Trump has said he could meet with Kim in late May or June.

The United States is pressing North Korea to denuclearize and has said it would keep up a policy of "maximum pressure" on Pyongyang to achieve that goal.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Thursday North Korea had expressed a commitment to "complete denuclearization" of the Korean peninsula, and North Korea said on Saturday it would immediately suspend nuclear and missile tests.

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. </s> U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed developments on Wednesday at an inter-Korean summit in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang as "very exciting".

SEOUL: U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed developments on Wednesday at an inter-Korean summit in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang as "very exciting".

"Kim Jong Un has agreed to allow nuclear inspections, subject to final negotiations, and to permanently dismantle a test site and launch pad in the presence of international experts," Trump said on Twitter, referring to agreements the North Korean leader made in talks with South Korea's President Moon Jae-in.

"In the meantime there will be no Rocket or Nuclear testing," Trump added.

Referring to the repatriation of remains of U.S. service people killed in the Korean War, which Kim and Moon also discussed, Trump said:

"Hero remains to continue being returned home to the United States. Also, North and South Korea will file a joint bid to host the 2032 Olympics. Very exciting!" </s> WASHINGTON — A cautious President Donald Trump spoke of possible progress Tuesday after South Korea announced that North Korea would halt nuclear weapons and missile tests and put its entire atomic arsenal up for discussion if the U.S. agrees to enter a negotiation. It could also be "false hope," the American leader said.

Trump credited all sides with a "serious effort" as U.S.-allied South Korean envoys returned home from a rare visit to their northern neighbour with the news of an inter-Korean summit planned for late April. But given the North's long history of broken promises on a nuclear program that now threatens the U.S. mainland, it wasn't surprising that Trump hedged.

"Possible progress being made in talks with North Korea. For the first time in many years, a serious effort is being made by all parties concerned," Trump tweeted Tuesday. "The World is watching and waiting! May be false hope, but the U.S. is ready to go hard in either direction!"

North Korea has yet to confirm details of the announcements from Seoul that appeared to open the door to dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang after a year of escalating threats by Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and escalating fears of war.

While the offer of talks could ease tensions, the adversaries will still have to overcome deep mutual suspicion. The U.S. has consistently demanded North Korea give up its nukes, which the reclusive socialist state had previously insisted was off the table until Washington abandoned its "hostile policy" toward it. At a minimum, the Americans wanted a halt in nuclear and missile testing for talks to begin.

"Maybe this is a breakthrough. I seriously doubt it," Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence, told a Senate hearing Tuesday. He said his doubts are grounded in what he called failed efforts by previous U.S. administrations to negotiate with North Korea over its nuclear program.

Coats said Kim is "very calculating" and views his nuclear capabilities as "essential to his well-being as well as the well-being of his nation."

Since taking office, Trump has championed a policy of "maximum pressure" on North Korea, cranking up international sanctions to limit the country's trade. The North's commerce with China, its main trading partner, appears to have plummeted in recent months. The U.S. has said the pressure is designed to force North Korea to negotiate on giving up its nukes, but Trump hasn't ruled out military action.

Vice-President Mike Pence said the U.S. would remain "firm in our resolve" whichever direction talks with North Korea go. "All options are on the table and our posture toward the regime will not change until we see credible, verifiable and concrete steps toward denuclearization," Pence said in a statement.

Diplomatic prospects had appeared bleak until a flurry of interactions between the two Koreas that sealed their joint participation in last month's Winter Olympics in South Korea, and a rare visit by Kim's sister to the country. The momentum has continued since then. The high-level South Korean delegation that visited Pyongyang this week was the first to meet Kim since he took power after his dictator father's death in late 2011. </s> WASHINGTON, Aug 24 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he had canceled a planned trip to North Korea by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, saying progress toward the U.S. goal of a denuclearization of the Korean peninsula was too slow.

"I have asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo not to go to North Korea, at this time, because I feel we are not making sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," Trump said on Twitter. (Reporting by Tim Ahmann; Editing by Steve Orlofsky) </s> Newly confirmed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton, both making the rounds of the Sunday talk show circuit, said the Trump administration is not entering high stakes denuclearization talks with North Korea with “starry-eyed” or “naive” expectations.

Pompeo, appearing on ABC’s “This Week,” acknowledged the scrutiny surrounding the upcoming talks between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, but argued that criticism the administration has not sought enough concessions from North Korea ahead of the meeting are unfounded.

Pompeo, who met with Kim secretly during the Easter weekend in his previous role as CIA director, said the two talked about releasing three Americans detained by North Korea as one of the conditions for successful talks.

“We know the history. We know the risks. We’re going to be very different,” Pompeo told ABC News’ Jon Karl. “We’re not going to make promises. We’re not going to take words. We’re going to look for actions and deeds.”

Bolton, appearing on Fox News Sunday said the president would not ease economic sanctions on North Korea until it completely dismantles its nuclear weapons program. Despite Kim’s recent pledge to stop nuclear weapons testing ahead of the summit with Trump, Bolton said “mere words are not going to persuade anybody,” noting that the country has previously broken past arms agreements.

“It’s also the case that they’ve lied about it and broken their commitments,” Bolton said on Fox News Sunday. “Which is one reason there’s nobody in the Trump administration starry-eyed about what may happen here.”

Bolton said, Trump “sees the potential here for historic agreement, a breakthrough that nobody could have imagined even a few months ago,” but also sees that “the potential for no deal at all is also there. And we’re not going to know until we actually have the meeting.”

The meeting between Trump and Kim is still in the works, with the president announcing last week that a site for the summit had been narrowed to two locations. Trump has said he is hopeful the meeting will result in “total denuclearization” of the Korean Peninsula, but has also said if talks are not fruitful he will walk away from the bargaining table.

Kim has told South Korean President Moon Jae-in that North Korea will abandon its nuclear weapons program if the United States commits to formally ending the Korean War and promises not to invade North Korea, a South Korean government spokeswoman told The New York Times on Sunday.

“If we meet often and build trust with the United States and if an end to the war and nonaggression are promised, why would we live in difficulty with nuclear weapons?” Kim told Moon, according to an account provided by South Korea’s government, following historic talks between the two leaders held Friday.

Kim also said he was open to inviting journalists and experts from the United States and South Korea to witness the shut down of the country’s underground nuclear test site.

Lawmakers weighing in on the upcoming North Korea summit urged the Trump administration to continue taking a hard-line stance with Kim, noting that despite Kim’s recent overtures, he remains a repressive leader.

Sen. James Lankford (R-Oklahoma), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that he did not agree with the president’s use of the word “honorable” to describe Kim last week.

“I would never use the word honorable to describe Kim Jong Un,” Lankford said. “I think he’s better to be able to just call him rocket man and to be able to stick with that than honorable just because he’s a ruthless dictator that does public executions of anyone that disagrees.”

Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Missouri) — appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” — said Trump should not compromise with Kim on pulling U.S. troops from South Korea. Kim has reportedly sought the withdrawal of the more than 28,000 American forces stationed in South Korea, but did not bring up the request when meeting with Pompeo, according to media reports.

“Our presence in South Korea continues to be essential,” Blunt said.

Also Sunday, Trump kicked off his morning on Twitter, criticizing Saturday night’s White House Correspondents Association Dinner, calling the annual scholarship banquet that historically roasts the president and reporters alike “a very big, boring bust.”

“While Washington, Michigan, was a big success, Washington, D.C., just didn’t work,” Trump tweeted. “Everyone is talking about the fact that the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was a very big, boring bust . . . the so-called comedian really “bombed.”

Trump, who skipped the event for a second year in a row, opting instead to hold his own campaign-style rally in Washington, Michigan, on Saturday night, appeared to address criticism surrounding the performance of comedian Michelle Wolf, who some journalists and White House aides on social media said crossed the line with some of her jabs aimed at the president’s top female aides.

NBC News White House reporter Kelly O’Donnell, in a tweet Saturday night, referring to jokes aimed at White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders wrote: “The spirit of the event had always been jokes that singe but don’t burn. Reporters who work with her daily appreciate that @presssec was there.”

Comedian Kathy Griffin, who was at the gala, defended Wolf on Twitter, saying if journalists were upset by Wolf’s jokes “then don’t have a comic do a roast. ” </s> President Donald Trump has received what the White House said is a "very warm, very positive letter" from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, requesting a follow-up meeting with Trump after the summit in Singapore earlier this year.

"The primary purpose of the letter was to request and look to schedule another meeting with the president," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters at the press briefing Monday. It was a request, she said, "which we are open to and already in the process of coordinating."

Talk of another Trump-Kim meeting initially seemed like an about-face for Trump, following the president's abrupt decision in late August to cancel a planned trip to North Korea by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

At the time, Trump tweeted, "I have asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo not to go to North Korea, at this time, because I feel we are not making sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."

Asked by reporters on Monday what had changed in the three weeks since Trump canceled Pompeo's trip, Sanders cited a recent parade in Pyongyang. The annual parade has traditionally featured a display of intercontinental ballistic missiles, an obvious nod to North Korea's nuclear weapons program. This year, however, there were reportedly no ICBMs at the parade.

"The recent parade in North Korea, for once, was not about their nuclear arsenal," Sanders said, adding that the letter from Kim was "further evidence of progress" in the Trump administration's goal of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.

But there are still serious issues standing in the way of further progress on North Korea. Notably, a new report from NBC News on Monday featured an assessment from intelligence officials that Kim is indeed still making nuclear weapons.

Citing U.S. intelligence officials, NBC also reported that North Korea is escalating its efforts to hide certain nuclear facilities, possibly to keep satellite images from revealing activity taking place there. The country is also moving nuclear warheads between various facilities, according to the officials.

The hardening intelligence assessment comes less than three months after Trump held a historic summit with Kim in Singapore in June, after which the president tweeted, "There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea."
U.S. President Donald Trump tweets that possible progress is being made in talks with North Korea.