Trump sees 'tremendous success' in upcoming DPRK talks

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US President Donald Trump predicted "tremendous success" Saturday in upcoming groundbreaking talks with Kim Jong Un, leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), adding that the reclusive state had promised not to shoot missiles in the interim.

The comments came after the American leader said he has received encouragement from the leaders of China and Japan as he moves toward the high stakes summit, announced suddenly this week.

Read more: Xi, Trump hold phone talks on Korean Peninsula issue

"I think North Korea (DPRK) is going to go very well, I think we will have tremendous success... We have a lot of support," Trump told reporters before boarding his Marine One helicopter to travel to a rally in Pennsylvania.

DPRK delegation leader Kim Yong Chol attends the closing ceremony of PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games with the Republic of Korea's (ROK) Constitutional Court President Lee Jin-sung and US Forces Korea Commander Vincent Brooks in PyeongChang, ROK, February 25, 2018. /VCG Photo‍

"The promise is they wouldn't be shooting off missiles in the meantime, and they're looking to de-nuke. So that'd be great."

Earlier, Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping was appreciative of his decision to opt for diplomacy rather than "the ominous alternative," while Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was "very enthusiastic" about his planned talks with the DPRK.

Just hours before Trump made his announcement Thursday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had said direct talks with the DPRK were "a long way" off.

Tillerson, who was traveling in Africa, canceled his scheduled program in Kenya because he felt unwell after a "long couple days" working on the DPRK and other issues, his Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy Steve Goldstein said in a statement.

Read more: From Carter to Trump: How US and DPRK leaders have interacted

Goldstein later said Tillerson was feeling better and would resume his travel schedule Sunday.

White House officials initially waffled on the president's intentions.

"We're not going to have this meeting take place until we see concrete actions that match the words and the rhetoric of North Korea (DPRK)," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters Friday.

But in a series of tweets late Friday and Saturday, a seemingly ebullient Trump emphasized the positive.

"North Korea (DPRK) has not conducted a Missile Test since November 28, 2017 and has promised not to do so through our meetings. I believe they will honor that commitment!" he said.

Trump praised a possible future agreement with the nuclear-armed DPRK as "very good" for the international community as a whole.

"The deal with North Korea (DPRK) is very much in the making and will be, if completed, a very good one for the World. Time and place to be determined," he wrote.

Impersonators of DPRK leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump pose for a picture on the sidelines of the closing ceremony of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games on February 25, 2018. /VCG Photo

Early Saturday, Trump tweeted that Chinese President Xi "appreciates that the US is working to solve the problem diplomatically rather than going with the ominous alternative. China continues to be helpful!"

"The United States should know and understand our position and should further contribute to the peace and security-building in the Korean Peninsula with (a) sincere position and serious attitude," DPRK's ambassador to the United Nations, Pak Song Il, wrote in an email to The Washington Post.

Not everyone was so sanguine about the prospects of a breakthrough, however, and some Democrats shuddered at the thought of such sensitive – and potentially explosive – negotiations in the hands of an impulsive, inexperienced president.

"If you want to talk to Kim Jong Un about his nuclear weapons you need experienced diplomats," Hillary Clinton, Trump's rival in the 2016 presidential elections, told Dutch tabloid Algemeen Dagblad.

The former diplomatic chief said the State Department was "being eroded," and experienced diplomats on the DPRK issue were in short supply because many have left.

"You cannot have diplomacy without diplomats," she said, adding that "the danger is not being recognized by the Trump government."