Will Trump Meet Kim Jong Un? Summit Date 'Hasn't Changed,' President Now Says

The much-hyped meeting between U.S. president Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will seemingly take place in Singapore next month on the same date as previously planned before the surprise cancellation that emerged from the White House on Thursday.

Talks stalled without warning earlier this week after Trump accused North Korea of displaying “tremendous anger and open hostility.” The summit―preceded by multiple meetings with South Korean president Moon Jae-in―was set up to discuss the prospect of denuclearization among other contentious topics. The fragile balance first tipped on May 15 after North Korea said it would cut off talks over military exercises being conducted in the region by the U.S. and South Korea.

But on Saturday, the White House signaled that the unprecedented meeting could still go ahead. "We're doing very well in terms of the summit with North Korea," Trump said, as first reported by the New York Times. "It’s moving along very nicely,” the president continued, adding: “So we're looking at June 12th in Singapore. That hasn't changed. So, we'll see what happens.”

The renewed interest came roughly 24 hours after Kim Jong Un met with Moon Jae-in in the so-called “truce village” of Panmunjom on the North Korean side of the border. According to The Guardian, Moon said, without elaborating, that Kim had “committed to complete denuclearization” but noted that he was unsure if he could trust the U.S. administration. North Korea’s state news agency, KCNA, said that its leader had “expressed his fixed will on the historic” summit.

Trump U.S. President Donald Trump talks to the media in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S., May 26, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

On Friday, Trump said on Twitter that despite his abrupt cancellation letter only days prior, negotiations were underway to finalise a date. He wrote: “We are having very productive talks with North Korea about reinstating the summit which, if it does happen, will likely remain in Singapore on the same date, June 12th, and, if necessary, will be extended beyond that date.”

In an apparent peace concession just before Trump cancelled the summit, North Korea claimed to have destroyed key parts of its sole nuclear test site, Punggye-ri. Foreign reporters, who were in the country when Trump issued his surprise letter, were taken to the location and shown the huge blasts as they happened. But some scientists believe the site was already partially destroyed during tests last year.

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Earlier this month, North Korea also released three U.S. citizens―Kim Hak-song, Tony Kim and Kim Dong-chul―who had been detained in the country on charges of espionage and suspicion of “hostile acts.” North Korea is being sued by the parents of another former prisoner― Otto Warmbier―who have claimed that their son had been “brutally tortured and murdered” by the regime after being jailed there for roughly 17 months for stealing a poster.

NK meeting In this handout image provided by South Korean Presidential Blue House, South Korean President Moon Jae-in (L) walks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (R) during their meeting on May 26, 2018 in Panmunjom, North Korea. South Korean Presidential Blue House via Getty Images