US and North Korean officials met in Vietnam to discuss holding a second summit between President Trump and Kim Jong Un in the country’s capital, Hanoi, according to a report Monday.
The recent meeting between State Department officials and their North Korean counterparts took place in Hanoi because Vietnam has diplomatic relations with both Washington and South Korea, Reuters reported, citing a South Korean newspaper.
Trump and Kim met to discuss denuclearizing the Korean peninsula last June in Singapore, but little headway has been made since then.
Trump, speaking to reporters Sunday in Washington, confirmed that the countries are “negotiating a location” for a second summit.
“It will be announced probably in the not-too-distant future. … And they do want to meet, and we want to meet, and we’ll see what happens,” the president said before leaving the White House for Camp David, where he was meeting with top advisers.
But the president said sanctions against North Korea will remain in effect “until we have some very positive proof” that they have abandoned their nuclear ambitions.
In a New Year’s speech, Kim said he would be willing to meet with Trump again, but warned the US not to test his country’s patience.
He said North Korea would have to follow a different path if the US “continues to break its promises and misjudges the patience of our people by unilaterally demanding certain things and pushes ahead with sanctions and pressure.”