Official come out here on the drive over to the white house last night, in the dark, to tell to make this announcement that he had accepted this invitation. Now, as far as the details of where we go from here, theyre still hammering those out, the when, the where. But south korea is saying this meeting will take place by may. Very short timetable that the white house is working with here. Thats a timetable that the white house has agreed to. But we do not know when and where this meeting will happen. But to give you a sense of how quickly all of this unfolded, we heard from Vice President mike pence just on tuesday and he said that the posture toward the north korean regime will not change until, quote, we see concrete steps toward denuclearization. Then we heard from the secretary of state Rex Tillerson just yesterday, hours before this invitation was accepted, and he said that, quote, were a long way from negotiations. And then the president accepts this invitation, that was extended
And no american president has ever said yes before. So i dont think we have any idea how theyre going to behave between now and when this meeting is ultimately going to happen because this is such a bizarre turn. Whatever anybody thought was going to happen between trump and north korea, i think the idea of just a nostrings meeting, giving the north koreans this thing they wanted for decades, i dont think anybody thought this was going to happen. Certainly Rex Tillerson and the state department didnt think it was going to happen as late as this afternoon. I dont know what to say about whats going to happen over the next few months. I may be extra eager to be hopeful in this arena because as you know i own a house on the pacific coast. And i just painted my garage. And it would be such a shame if anything were to happen to that garage. I am a fan of the whole pacific region. I feel the same way my friend. We like to keep the thing intact as it is now. From your mouth to gods ears. Let i
Good morning everyone. John berman here. Unprecedented and until this morning nearly unthinkable. No u. S. President has ever met facetoface with a north korea leader. Donald trump will be the first. Kim jong uns that never met with a foreign leader, period. This is a moment without parallel but not without peril. Its also bringing in new serious warnings. It sets up one of the most bizarre white house split screens ever, the highest of high stakes diplomacy from fallout of a lawsuit with a porn star. Were getting new information about how the north korea move went down and what happens next. Cnns abby phillip at the white house this morning. Abby. Reporter we often expect drama from this white house, yesterday it was more dramatic than usual. A series of events unfolding suddenly and in a few short hours as the president accepts an invitation to meet with the leader of north korea. Yesterday south korean officials came to the white house to brief National Security officials on their t
Reporter why would he extend it and why now . Look, i think most analysts looking at this agree that the sanctions against north korea are feeling the bite, that hes feeling the bite, and he is going to want to get some sanctions relief that may be one major motivation on the part of kim. But, why now . He comes to the table and possibly the strongest position of any north Korean Leader in decades. Because he does have a Nuclear Missile program. Hes got the missiles. Hes test fired them. He and the world knows that they work, that they have intercontinental range. Hes got a nuclear program, hes got nuclear warheads. Is it at all perfect . No, kim jongun isnt looking for perfection in his nuclear program. Hes looking to bring the president of the United States to the table, show the world that he, kim, and his regime, are a Nuclear Power and that he can bring the president of the United States to the table. So if this summit happened, kim will have achieved that very major objective. He
President moon jaeins personal gratitude for trumps leadership. I told President Trump that in our meeting, north koreas leader, kim jong un, said he is committed to denuclearization. Kim pledged that north korea will refrain from any further nuclear or missile tests. He understands that the routine joint military exercises with the republican o korea and United States must continue and expressed his willingness to meet with President Trump as soon as possible. President trump appreciated the greeting and said he would meet kim jong un by may, to achieve further denuclearization. The republic of korea, along with the United States, japan, and our many partners around the world remain fully and resolutely committed to the complete denuclearization of the korean peninsula. Along with President Trump, we are optimistic about continuing the diplomatic process to test the possibility of a peaceful resolution. The republic of korea, the United States, and our partners stand together in insis