US President Donald Trump, speaking in the luxurious residence of Mar-a-Lago, Florida, where he welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, evoked discussions "at the highest level" with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and spoke of " five possible places ”for the face-to-face, which will be held in June“ if all goes well ”, responding with a simple“ No ”to the question posed by a journalist who asked about the possibility that the meeting could take place in the USA.
The White House also specified that Trump was not directly in touch with the North Korean leader, contrary to what he had indicated in an answer. Panmunjom, a village located in the demilitarized zone that divides the Korean peninsula, is one of the places hypothesized for the summit. The American president also said he was very supportive of the discussions between the two Koreas on the nature of their ties, ten days after the summit between Kim and the South Korean president, Kim Jong-un, in anticipation of the April 27.
On the preparations underway, the president expressed a certain optimism: “They respect us. We respect them. The time has come to talk, to solve problems ”,“ There is a real possibility of solving a global problem. It's not a problem for the United States, Japan or any other country, it's a problem for the world ”. “They have my blessing to discuss the end of the war. People have not understood that the Korean War is not over yet, ”he said.
These words suggest the conditions exist that the end-of-month meeting could lead to the drafting of a peace treaty, which would replace the armistice which ended the hostilities in 1953.
President Donald Trump then concluded his speech by thanking his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for his role in the Korean question.