Trump announces new meeting with Kim in late February

WASHINGTON, USA

The American president, Donald Trump, announced Tuesday that he would meet the North Korean leader, KimJong Aday February 27 and 28 in Vietnam continue negotiations on nuclear disarmament in North Korea.

"As part of our bold diplomacy, we continue our historic effort for peace on the Korean peninsula," he said in a speech on the state of the Union to Congress, formalizing the date and venue of the second meeting with Kim after the historic summit held by the two leaders in June in Singapore.

Trump is praised for the progress made, according to him, since the step taken with the Pyongyang regime last year. The president said that if he had not been elected president, the United States would now be "in a great war with North Korea".

"Our hostages have gone home, the nuclear tests have stopped and there has been no missile launch in 15 months," Trump said.

"There is still a lot of work to be done, but my relationship with Kim Jong Un is good," he added.

At its meeting in Singapore, Kim Jong Un was willing to work for "the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula"; but negotiations have not progressed since then.

Washington wants to obtain a "complete inventory" of the North Korean arsenal and a "road map" for its nuclear disarmament.

In return, the United States is ready to sign the end of the war, restore diplomatic relations and allow the economic development of North Korea, a country strangled by economic sanctions.

Last week, US intelligence officials said it was "unlikely" that Pyongyang would give up "all of its nuclear weapons and production capabilities."

And on Tuesday, UN experts said that North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs remain intact and that Pyongyang uses airports and other facilities to protect its weapons against possible enemy bombardments