Trump shows ‘extraordinary’ letter from N.K. leader

WASHINGTON, Sept. 26 (Yonhap) — U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday showed a letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ahead of a second summit that he said would happen “fairly quickly.”

Trump took out the folded piece of paper from inside his jacket as he sat down for a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

“I just showed a letter that I received just yesterday from Chairman Kim, which is an extraordinary letter,” Trump said. “I’ve received other letters also from Chairman Kim. He wants to see things happen for North Korea that are great, that can make it an economic power, and they really have the potential to be that.”

This AP file photo shows U.S. President Donald Trump. (Yonhap)

Trump and Kim met in Singapore in June to discuss the dismantlement of the North’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs that pose a direct threat to the United States.

Kim committed to work toward “complete denuclearization” of the Korean Peninsula in exchange for security guarantees from the U.S.

A second summit to advance that deal has been in the works, and Trump said earlier that a date and location will be announced soon.

“We look forward to our second summit and that will take place, I believe, fairly quickly,” he said. “In the meantime, you know that sanctions are remaining and a lot of good things are happening, but the sanctions will remain and I think we can do something where ideally very positive things are going to happen with respect to North Korea.”

Trump reminded the international community of the importance of sanctions in his address to the U.N. Security Council earlier in the day.

He said the council’s sanctions resolutions, which were adopted last year in the wake of North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile tests, must be enforced to ensure progress toward denuclearization.

He also warned that some countries’ illegal ship-to-ship trade with North Korea in violation of the sanctions undermines the safety of not only the Korean Peninsula but also the region and the world.

“I believe that Chairman Kim Jong-un, a man I have gotten to know and like, wants peace and prosperity for North Korea,” Trump said. “Many things are happening behind the scenes — away from the media, which nobody knows — but they are happening nevertheless and they are happening in a very positive way. So I think you will have some very good news coming from North Korea in the coming months and years.”

Trump also extended his thanks to South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who has met with Kim three times to broker the denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyongyang.

Moon and Trump met in New York on Monday.

“He was so gracious to me as president but to the United States and the job we’ve done and the job we are doing because we have to get it finished,” Trump said at his sit-down with Abe. “He was interviewed by various people, in particular by Fox, and he was tremendous in his statements, and I just want to thank President Moon.”