US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have both said they are he open to taking part in a third summit to discuss North Korea's nuclear programme.

The second meeting between the leaders in February ended abruptly without a breakthrough on North Korean denuclearization or US sanctions relief.

On Friday, Kim said in a speech to the Supreme People's Assembly that he will ‘wait patiently’ until the end of the year for Washington to make ‘courageous decisions’ over negotiations before making a decision, news agency Yonhap reported, citing North Korean state media.

Kim added that his personal relationship with Trump remained ‘excellent,’ despite their lacklustre second meeting in Hanoi.

In a tweet on Saturday, Trump said his relationship with Kim ‘remains very good, perhaps the term excellent would be even more accurate,’ adding that a third summit ‘would be good in that we fully understand where we each stand.’   ‘I look forward to the day, which could be soon, when Nuclear Weapons and Sanctions can be removed, and then watching North Korea become one of the most successful nations of the World!’ Trump added.

There were signs of tensions in the aftermath of the second summit, including sharp rhetoric coming from Pyongyang against US officials.

Trump said Thursday he believed a third summit with Kim remained a possibility, but cautioned that negotiations would not move quickly.

The US is demanding the ‘final, fully verified denuclearization’ of North Korea and said after the Hanoi summit that Pyongyang was not willing to take the steps necessary to see key sanctions lifted.

Trump became the first sitting US president to meet a leader of North Korea after meeting Kim in June in Singapore.

 

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