Second summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un may be held ‘after October’
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the two countries are ‘working diligently’ to make sure the conditions are right for the meeting, but Trump says he’s told Pompeo not to worry about ‘the time game’
A second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is likely to be held “after October”, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday, as the key players seek to fulfil a commitment to officially end the Korean war before the year is out.
But speaking to reporters in New York later that day, Trump said that he had instructed Pompeo not to worry about a timeframe for denuclearisation, saying: “I think we’re really going to do something that’s going to be very important, but we’re not playing the time game. If it takes two years, three years or five months – doesn’t matter.”
“I got all the time in the world [and] don’t have to rush it,” Trump told the press conference, held at the sidelines of United Nations General Assembly.
Pompeo previously said that North Korea has committed to dismantling its nuclear weapons programme by the time Trump’s term ends in January 2021.
China would be keen to make sure it had a seat at the table for further talks on the peace process – and to avoid the US gaining too much influence in the region, observers said.