Leaders and high-ranking officials from North and South Korea launched their third international summit this week with the hopes of kick-starting the recently stalled denuclearization talks.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in is poised to cross the de-militarized zone between the two nations as early as Tuesday; setting the stage for high-stakes negotiations with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
“The inter-Korean summit will be a litmus test for another meeting Kim has recently proposed to U.S. President Donald Trump, giving clues to whether Kim is serious about denuclearisation, a commitment he made at their first encounter in June,” writes Yahoo News.
“I’d like to have frank dialogue with Chairman Kim on how to find a point of contact between U.S. demands for denuclearisation and North Korea’s demands for ending hostile relations and security guarantees,” Moon told reporters before departing for the region.
Read the full story at Yahoo News.
ACOSTA ABROAD: Trump Warns Jim Acosta to ‘Be Respectful’ During Kim Summit
President Trump told CNN’s White House correspondent Jim Acosta to “be nice” and “be respectful” during Tuesday’s press conference in Singapore; warning the journalist after he yelled questions at Trump and Kim Jong Un earlier in the day.
The President was taking questions from reporters after his high-stakes meetings with the North Korean leader when he called-on Acosta, who promised to be “respectful” before asking the Commander-in-Chief the status of the negotiations.
President Trump: "I do" trust Kim Jong Un, he tells CNN's @Acosta https://t.co/hkIsOj59bB pic.twitter.com/ipnc47XAQf
— CNN (@CNN) June 12, 2018
Acosta’s demeanor was a stark contrast to his behavior earlier in the day, when he hurled questions at the North Korean leader, including, “Are you going to give up your nuclear weapons?”
Trump tells me he has an “excellent relationship” with Kim Jong Un at #TrumpKimSummit pic.twitter.com/pDig6tqHDj
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) June 12, 2018
BACK IN BEIJING: Kim Jong Un in CHINA to Brief Officials on Singapore Summit
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was back in Beijing this week, speaking with Chinese officials over his historic summit with President Trump and the possible denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
Kim traveled to Beijing Tuesday to meet with President Xi Jinping in their first face-to-face meeting since the Singapore Summit; making the trip his third visit to China this year.
“Trump agreed to work with Kim toward complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, committed to provide the North with security guarantees and pledged to end ‘war games’ with South Korea, which North Korea and China have long seen as provocative,” writes the New York Post.
“We hope this visit can help to further deepen China-North Korea relations, strengthen strategic communication between both countries on important issues and promote regional peace and stability,” said a spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry.
Read the full report here.