North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he is open to the possibility of giving up the nation’s nuclear weapons.
“If I’m not willing to do that, I won’t be here right now,” Kim said in Vietnam Thursday local time, during a summit with President Trump. Kim said that steps to denuclearize were being discussed.
Earlier, Kim said he wasn’t “pessimistic” about the prospect of a denuclearization agreement after he was asked by Washington Post reporter David Nakamura about whether he was confident about a deal.
“It’s too early to tell, but I wouldn’t say I’m pessimistic. For what I feel right now, I do have a feeling that good results will come out,” Kim said.
[Also read: Trump: North Korea could be the next Vietnam if it were to denuclearize]
Despite Kim’s rhetoric, U.S. intelligence isn’t expecting North Korea to fully denuclearize. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats told the Senate in January, “We currently assess that North Korea will seek to retain its WMD [weapons of mass destruction] capabilities and is unlikely to completely give up its nuclear weapons and production capability because its leaders ultimately view nuclear weapons as critical to regime survival.”
Adm. Phil Davidson, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, echoed similar sentiments and told lawmakers this month it’s “unlikely that North Korea will give up all of its nuclear weapons or production capabilities but seeks to negotiate partial denuclearization in exchange for U.S. and international concessions.”
Trump and Kim are meeting for the second time in Hanoi. They met last in June 2018, where they agreed to “work toward complete denuclearization” of the peninsula and work toward “a lasting and stable peace regime.”
Trump told reporters that he was in no rush to secure a denuclearization deal and emphasized that he has a “very strong” relationship with Kim.
“Speed is not important,” Trump said. “What’s important is that we do the right deal.”
