By Arul Louis
New York, May 31 (IANS) US President Donald Trump said on Thursday the rebooted talks with North Korea have been "very positive" and he was hopeful that the talks scheduled in Singapore on June 12 will take place.
The talks between US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Kim Yong Chol, the representative of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, that began in New York on Wednesday have been "very good," Trump told reporters in Washington.
He said that he expected the North Koreans to come to Washington bearing a letter from Kim.
"I look forward to seeing what's in the letter. But it's very important to them," he said.
After a working dinner on Wednesday night, Pompeo and Kim Yong Chol, a former North Korean leader, resumed talks Thursday morning.
Pompeo tweeted that the talks were "substantive" and "we discussed our priorities for the potential summit between" Trump and Kim.
Trump had walked away from the talks last week citing "tremendous anger and open hostility" from Pyongyang.
However, the two sides cooled down resumed negotiations in Singapore, the demilitarised zone on the border between the two Koreas and in New York in hopes of salvaging what would have been a signature diplomatic achievement for Trump.
Kim appears to be equally invested in the denuclearisation talks that could translate into economic development for his impoverished country that is under severe economic sanctions.
Trump indicated that the talks may not immediately lead to denuclearisation of North Korea - which had once been a precondition - and only be the start of a drawn-out negotiating process.
He told reporters that "I want it (Singapore talks) to be meaningful. It doesn't mean it gets all done at one meeting; maybe you have to have a second or a third."
Adding an element of brinkmanship, he also said, "And maybe we'll have none."
(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in)
