Trump Will Personally Meet With Kim Jong Un By May

South Korean national security director Chung Eui-yong speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington, Thursday, March 8, 2018, as intelligence chief Suh Hoon, left and Cho Yoon-je, the South Korea ambassador to United States listen.
South Korean national security director Chung Eui-yong speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington, Thursday, March 8, 2018, as intelligence chief Suh Hoon, left and Cho Yoon-je, the South Korea ambassador to United States listen. AP Photo/Susan Walsh
South Korean national security director Chung Eui-yong speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington, Thursday, March 8, 2018, as intelligence chief Suh Hoon, left and Cho Yoon-je, the South Korea ambassador to United States listen.
South Korean national security director Chung Eui-yong speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington, Thursday, March 8, 2018, as intelligence chief Suh Hoon, left and Cho Yoon-je, the South Korea ambassador to United States listen. AP Photo/Susan Walsh

Trump Will Personally Meet With Kim Jong Un By May

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President Donald Trump made the surprise announcement on Thursday stating that he would engage in direct talks with North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un about the country’s nuclear arsenal. The White House released a statement that said in part, “[Trump] will accept the invitation to meet with Kim Jong Un at a place and time to be determined. We look forward to the denuclearization of North Korea. In the meantime, all sanctions and maximum pressure must remain.”

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said through a statement, “This is an almost miraculous event; my administration will prepare toward the May meeting with utmost diligence.”

The movement began after Kim opened the door to a diplomatic thaw. After combining their Winter Olympic teams, North and South Korea are now engaged in high-level talks. We’ll discuss this potential game-changing announcement with Bruce Cumings, professor of history at the University of Chicago. He’s author of numerous books on the Korean peninsula including, Parallax Visions: Making Sense of American-East Asian Relations at the End of the Century , The Korean War: A Histor y and North Korea: Another Country.