Trump says willing to speak to Kim Jong-un

Washington, Jan 7 : US President Donald Trump has said that he was willing to speak to North Korean’ Kim Jong-un.

Asked at a news conference on Saturday at Camp David (Trump’s country retreat in Maryland) whether he would be interested in speaking to Kim, the President said that he always believed in dialogue, reports Efe news.

“Our stance, you know what it is. We’re very firm,” Trump said. “But I would be… absolutely, I would do that (speak with Kim). No problem with that, at all.”

But when asked whether he would sit down to negotiate with the North Korean leader with no prerequisites, Trump said “that’s not what I said, at all”.

“Look, right now they’re talking Olympics,” Trump said of North Korea and South Korea over the upcoming Pyongchang Winter Olympics.

“It’s a start. It’s a big start. If I weren’t involved they wouldn’t be talking about Olympics right now. They’d be doing no talking or it would be much more serious.

“He (Kim) knows I’m not messing around. I’m not messing around. Not even a little bit. Not even 1 per cent. He understands that.”

Trump also expressed his desire that North Korean athletes participate in the Winter Olympics slated to be held from February 9 to 25, and that the neighbouring countries continue to hold talks after the Games.

On Saturday, representatives of the two Asian nations held initial talks aimed paving the way for a scheduled high-level meeting on January 9, the first between the two countries in more than two years.

(IANS)