Trump expresses hope for 'reaching an agreement on North Korea's nuclear disarmament'

The President of the United States says his administration has been in contact with North Korean officials to arrange meetings in the coming weeks. He also expressed hope that 'an agreement can be reached regarding North Korea's nuclear disarmament.' According to the White House, Donald Trump stated on April 8 that 'as you may have heard about North Korea, we have been in contact with them, and we will have a meeting with them in late May and early June.' These remarks came a day after reports of secret communications between Washington and Pyongyang. On April 7, U.S. officials told the media that 'U.S. State Department officials have communicated with Pyongyang through the North Korean delegation at the United Nations. Security officials have also had contacts through other means.' According to U.S. officials, Pyongyang is 'ready to negotiate on nuclear disarmament' on the Korean Peninsula. Given that the focus of negotiations on the Korean Peninsula is the issue of nuclear disarmament, North Korea's potential readiness to negotiate on this matter could be seen as a sign of its seriousness in the upcoming meetings with U.S. officials. Donald Trump also expressed hope on Monday that an agreement could be reached: 'I think the parties will respect each other greatly, and we can reach an agreement on North Korea's nuclear disarmament. They said so, and we said so... I hope this relationship will turn into a completely different one compared to previous years.' Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have increased since Kim Jong-un came to power. These tensions intensified with North Korea's successive nuclear and missile tests, and Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump threatened each other with nuclear attack and 'destruction.' However, at the beginning of 2018, the North Korean leader proposed holding talks in his New Year's message, ultimately leading to Kim Jong-un's invitation to Trump. Recently, for the first time since coming to power, the North Korean leader also made a trip to China and met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. In the coming weeks, the President of South Korea will meet with the North Korean leader, after which U.S. officials, and possibly Trump and Kim, will hold their meetings.