North Korea's Kim says wants to denuclearise in Trump's first term - Seoul

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he wants to denuclearise the Korean peninsula during U.S. President Donald Trump’s first term, as he agreed to hold a third summit with his South Korean counterpart this month in Pyongyang, Seoul officials said on Thursday.

Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in will meet in the North Korean capital on Sept. 18-20, during which they will discuss “practical measures” toward denuclearization, the South’s national security adviser, Chung Eui-yong, told reporters a day after meeting Kim in Pyongyang.

Kim told the South Korean officials that his faith in Trump remains “unchanged” and he wanted to denuclearise and end long-standing hostile relations between North Korea and the United States during Trump’s first term ending early 2021, Chung said. 

Pyongyang has said the United States needs to reciprocate North Korea’s goodwill gestures, which also include the return of U.S. war remains, by stating an official end to the 1950-53 Korean War.

But U.S. officials said they have already made concessions, with the suspension of U.S.-South Korean joint military exercises. They also worry that an end-of-war declaration could weaken North Korea’s incentive for denuclearisation, while raising questions about some 18,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea, a legacy of the Korean War.