Trump heaps praise on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in late-night tweet, suggests another meeting 'soon'
- President Donald Trump in a late-night tweet praised North Korean leader Kim Jong Un after his regime provided the US with what are believed to be the remains of US service members who died during the Korean War era.
- Trump also appeared to suggest that there could be a second meeting with Kim, after the two leaders met for the first time during their summit in Singapore on June 12.
President Donald Trump in a late-night tweet praised North Korean leader Kim Jong Un after his regime provided the US with what are believed to be the remains of US service members who died during the Korean War era.
"Thank you to Chairman Kim Jong Un for keeping your word & starting the process of sending home the remains of our great and beloved missing fallen!," Trump said on Twitter. "I am not at all surprised that you took this kind action."
Trump also appeared to suggest there would be a second meeting with Kim, after the two leaders met for the first time during their summit in Singapore on June 12.
"Also, thank you for your nice letter - l look forward to seeing you soon!," Trump said in the tweet.
Last week, North Korea provided the US with 55 boxes of what are believed to be the remains of US troops. In a joint statement during their summit, Kim and Trump pledged to "commit to recovering POW/MIA remains, including the immediate repatriation of those already identified."
However, identifying the remains could take years to accomplish, and in previous instances, North Korea reportedly turned over the remains of animal bones, according to Daily Mail report published in June that cited the memoirs of a North Korean diplomat who fled to South Korea in 2016.
Around 5,300 US remains are still believed to be in North Korea.
It was also unclear which letter from Kim the president was referring to. The last letter that Trump mentioned publicly came in July when Kim said he hoped that a reciprocal relationship "will bring our next meeting forward."
During the summit, the Korean Central News Agency, North Korea's state-run propaganda outlet, claimed that Kim invited Trump to visit Pyongyang at a "convenient time" and that Trump had invited Kim to the US.
"The two top leaders gladly accepted each other's invitation, convinced that it would serve as another important occasion for improved DPRK-US relation," KCNA said in their propaganda dispatch.
Speaking to reporters at the summit, Trump said that he would "absolutely" invite Kim to the White House in Washington D.C.
If they were to happen, either of the trips would mark a significant shift in US-North Korea relations, particularly after the bellicose rhetoric the two leaders exchanged in 2017. A Trump visit to Pyongyang would mark the first time a sitting US president visits North Korea.