Trump ‘very happy’ with progress in denuclearisation talks with North Korea

In a joint declaration after his historic summit with US President Donald Trump on June 12 in Singapore, Kim Jong Un had “reaffirmed his commitment” to work towards the “denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula”.

United States President Donald Trump said on Monday that he is “very happy” with how talks were progressing with North Korea, as observers and the media highlight the lack of concrete results one month after his summit with Kim Jong Un.

US President Donald Trump hit out at ‘fake news’ once again.(AFP)

“A Rocket has not been launched by North Korea in 9 months. Likewise, no Nuclear Tests. Japan is happy, all of Asia is happy,” Trump tweeted. “But the Fake News is saying, without ever asking me (always anonymous sources), that I am angry because it is not going fast enough. Wrong, very happy!”

In a joint declaration after his historic summit with Trump on June 12 in Singapore, the North Korean leader “reaffirmed his commitment” to work towards the “denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula”. But the actual details of the process, including how and when the North’s nuclear program is to be dismantled, have yet to be hammered out.

A month ago, the US administration insisted on the “urgency” of denuclearisation, and said it would begin “very quickly.” “We’re hopeful we can get it done” by 2020, before the end of Trump’s term, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said at the time.

Pompeo has been charged with the challenge of putting meat on the bare bones of the Singapore commitment.

But 40 days and one apparently fruitless visit by Pompeo to Pyongyang later, the tone of the American side has clearly changed. “We have no time limit,” Trump told reporters last week. “We have no speed limit.”

Asked about the change in tone, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert sought to reassure: “We have teams in place that are working very hard on this issue every day,” she said. “We have said there’s a lot of work left to be done.”