U.S. confirms N.K. willingness to discuss denuclearization

ASTANA. KAZINFORM - The United States has confirmed that North Korea is willing to talk about abandoning its nuclear weapons program during a bilateral summit next month, the White House said Sunday, Kazinform has learned from Yonhap.

Kim told South Korean officials last month that he was committed to denuclearization and hoping to meet with Trump as soon as possible. The U.S. president accepted the invite, but there was no direct word from Pyongyang on its offer.

U.S. media outlets reported over the weekend that North Korea has told the U.S. it is ready to talk about giving up its nuclear weapons program. U.S. Central Intelligence Agency chief Mike Pompeo, who has been tapped to be the new U.S. secretary of state, has been leading back-channel meetings with the North Koreans in preparation for the summit, the reports said.

The venue and date of the meeting have yet to be set.

Kim made an unannounced visit to Beijing last month to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and is due to hold an April 27 summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on the southern side of the inter-Korean Demilitarized Zone.