Trump expects to meet NKorea's Kim

By Michael Hernandez</p> <p>WASHINGTON (AA) – U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday he expects to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for a second time as Washington continues to seek the North’s denuclearization.</p> <p>Trump said he recently received a &quot;great&quot; letter from Kim Jong-un, claiming the U.S. has &quot;made a lot of progress&quot; in talks with Pyongyang. But he did not specify the letter's content. </p> <p>&quot;We really established a very good relationship, a lot of good things are happening,&quot; he told reporters at the White House. &quot;We had our meeting six months ago in Singapore. We'll probably now have another meeting. He'd like to meet, I'd like to meet.&quot; </p> <p>The comments come on the heels of a nationally-televised speech from Kim on Tuesday in which he said he would be willing to meet again with Trump, but warned Pyongyang might pursue a &quot;new path&quot; if Washington does not lift its sanctions against the country. </p> <p>Talks between the U.S. and North Korea have largely stalled amid the North's insistence that the U.S. begin to ease the economic pressure, a move the U.S. has roundly rejected until a deal to rid the Korean Peninsula of nuclear weapons is reached. </p> <p>But Trump hailed the ongoing negotiations, without which he said &quot;You'd be having a nice big fat war in Asia.&quot;</p> <p>U.S. ally South Korea has also been holding parallel talks with its northern neighbor seeking a formal end to the Korean war, as well as an end the North's ballistic missile and nuclear programs. </p> <p>In an unprecedented thaw in ties, South and North Korean leaders met three times in 2018 — in April, May, and September.</p> <p>The April 27 meeting featured the signing of the historic Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula, a formal foundation for further denuclearization of North Korea and a peace deal between the two countries.