US President Donald Trump held a historic meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un today at the DPRK-USA Singapore Summit, in which the latter assured complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula. Trump later interacted with media persons from across the world covering the event. Trump’s press conference was his second-longest to date which lasted for an hour and five minutes.
Here are five top takeaways from his media interaction:
1) Preparation for starting a new history
“We are prepared to start a history and we are ready to write a new chapter between our nations. Anyone can make war but only the most courageous can make peace. The current state of affairs cannot endure forever.”
2) Joint statement is unwavering commitment to complete denuclearisation of North Korea
“We signed a joint statement that is an unwavering commitment to complete denuclearisation of North Korea. We dream of a future where all Koreans can live in harmony where light of peace chases away the darkness of war, it's right there, it's within our reach. People thought this could never take place.”
3) 6,000 remains of Prisoners of War will be brought back
“I had countless calls, letters, tweets, they (South Koreans) want the remains of their sons, fathers, mothers back that got caught in the really brutal war. I asked for it today and we got it. The remains are going to come back… 6,000 remains will be brought back.”
4) Stopping of war games with South Korea
“We will be stopping the war games which will save us a tremendous amount of money… The war games are very expensive, we pay for the majority of them. Under the circumstances, that we're negotiating… I think it's inappropriate to be having war games.”
5) Follow up US-North Korea talks to take place next week
“We are working with the regional countries on getting this (deal) going. We are sitting with (National Security Adviser) John Bolton next week to go over the details, to get this stuff done. We are working with South Korea, Japan, China to a lesser extent.”
Trump also said that Korean war will “soon end”. He ended the press conference by hailing the summit as an “important event in world history”.