US-DPRK Diplomacy: White House: No added conditions for Trump-Kim talks
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Both the White House and the CIA sent the same message to Pyongyang on Sunday.
There will be no preconditions for a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un beyond the DPRK's pledge to abstain from missile and nuclear tests and not publicly criticize joint military exercises with South Korea.
MIKE POMPEO CIA DIRECTOR "He can't conduct nuclear testing, he's got to stop the missile testing that he's been hard at for the last years. He's got to continue to allow us to perform our militarily-necessary exercises on the peninsula."
The comments by the White House come as the international community tries to facilitate this historic meeting. This week representatives from South Korea will give updated briefings to officials in Tokyo and Beijing on the possible talks.
CHUNG EUI-YONG SOUTH KOREAN NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER "I also greatly appreciate the brave decision of the DPRK's leader, Kim Jong Un. We will do our best to prepare for the summit between him and our leaders in April and for the summit between him and the US so that the meetings will be successful, and we can achieve a lot."
Trump himself has welcomed the help from other leaders? Tweeting this weekend?
"Chinese President Xi Jinping and I spoke at length about the meeting with Kim Jong Un of North Korea. President Xi told me he appreciates that the U.S. is working to solve the problem diplomatically rather than going with the ominous alternative. China continues to be helpful!"
It's unclear where the summit will take place? if it happens? Over the weekend, Sweden and Switzerland offered their assistance.
The White House has said it wants the meeting to lead to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
DONALD TRUMP US PRESIDENT "Look, a lot of people thought we were going to war, and all of a sudden, they come in and say we are going to have a meeting, and there are no more missiles going off and they want to denuclearize."
Some of Trump's critics in the US worry that the possible summit has been too hastily arranged. But outside the US, the mood seems closer to optimism. Toby Muse, CGTN, Washington.