White House prepared for Trump-Kim summit to happen on June 12

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The White House is prepared for a planned summit between President Donald Trump and Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) leader Kim Jong Un to take place on June 12, White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders said on Tuesday.

"The President thinks ongoing discussions are going very well... and that the meetings taking place over this week... certainly are signs of progress," Sanders told reporters traveling with Trump on Air Force One to Nashville, Tennessee.

"We're going to be prepared if it takes place on June 12. We'll certainly be prepared if it for some reason takes place at a later date – we'll be prepared for that as well."

Trump said Tuesday that a senior DPRK official was headed to New York to discuss the upcoming summit.

In this image from video, Kim Yong Chol, right, Kim Jong Un’s top official on inter-Korean relations, walks through Beijing airport after his arrival, May 29, 2018. /AP Photo

"We have put a great team together for our talks with North Korea (DPRK). Meetings are currently taking place concerning Summit, and more. Kim Young Chol, the Vice Chairman of North Korea (DPRK), heading now to New York. Solid response to my letter, thank you!" Donald Trump said in a Twitter post.

Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea Central Committee, was sent presumably for preparatory talks with the US side on a possible summit between US President Donald Trump and DPRK's top leader Kim Jong Un, which was initially scheduled on June 12 in Singapore.

Photo via Twitter

Kim Yong Chol landed at Beijing airport on Tuesday and will journey on to New York the following day after talks with Chinese officials, according to Yonhap news agency, which cited diplomatic sources.

The DPRK official appeared on a list of passengers set to depart for New York on Air China flight CA981 at 1300 local time on Wednesday, and was photographed by the Associated Press at Beijing Capital Airport.

According to Chung Sung-yoon, an analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, Kim Yong Chol would be the most senior DPRK official to step onto US soil since Vice Marshall Jo Myong Rok met President Bill Clinton in 2000.

Chung added that Kim Yong Chol has long been a right-hand man to the DPRK leader, playing a front-seat role during recent rounds of diplomacy aimed at ending the nuclear stalemate on the Korean Peninsula.

It was widely expected that Kim Yong Chol would travel to the US to reciprocate recent visits by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The two may meet to put final touches on the preparations for the Trump-Kim summit, Yonhap said.

It is believed that the visit of Kim Yong Chol indicates the advancement of preparations for the Trump-Kim summit, according to reports.

CCTV reporters wait at Singapore's airport, May 28, 2018. /CCTV Photo

Meanwhile, a delegation from the DPRK arrived in Singapore on Monday for the summit. Kim Chang Son, a senior official of the DPRK’s State Affairs Commission, is leading the delegation to discuss logistics and security issues.

On the same day, White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations Joe Hagin, who leads the US delegation, also arrived in the city state.

The two delegations are expected to meet as early as Tuesday.

ROK President Moon Jae-in bids farewell to DPRK leader Kim Jong Un as he leaves after their summit at the truce village of Panmunjom, May 26, 2018. /VCG Photo

Tuesday's talks are running in parallel with separate discussions at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom.

The delegations are led by US ambassador to Seoul Sung Kim, a former chief US nuclear envoy, and DPRK's Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui.

The two sides are reported to have been discussing denuclearization methods and timelines as well as ways to ensure DPRK's security, according to Yonhap.

(Top image: Kim Yong Chol (C), who lead a DPRK high-level delegation to attend the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games closing ceremony, arrives at the inter-Korea transit office in Paju, February 25, 2018. /VCG Photo )