North and South Korean leaders meet to discuss Kim-Trump summit

South Korean President Moon Jae-in held a surprise meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Saturday (May 26^th) to ensure a summit between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump goes off successfully, South Korean officials said.

This handout from the Blue House taken and released on May 26^th, 2018 shows South Korea's President Moon Jae-in (R) hugging North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un before their second summit at the north side of the truce village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). (AFP PHOTO / THE BLUE HOUSE)

It was the clearest sign yet that the on-again off-again summit between Trump and Kim is likely to be held as initially agreed, in Singapore on June 12^th.

The unannounced meeting at the Panmunjom border village between Moon and Kim came a month after they held the first inter-Korean summit in more than a decade at the same venue and declared they would toward a nuclear-free Korean peninsula.

The leaders held talks for two hours, The Blue House said.

This handout from the Blue House taken and released on May 26^th, 2018 shows South Korea's President Moon Jae-in (L) shaking hands with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un before their second summit at the north side of the truce village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). (AFP PHOTO / THE BLUE HOUSE)

"They exchanged views and discussed ways to implement the Panmunjom Declaration and to ensure a successful U.S.-North Korea summit," the Blue House said, adding that further details would be released Sunday morning.

This handout from the Blue House taken and released on May 26^th, 2018 shows South Korea's President Moon Jae-in (second L) and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (R) during their second summit at the north side of the truce village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). (AFP PHOTO / THE BLUE HOUSE)

TO MEET OR NOT TO MEET?

The meeting between both leaders comes after Trump on Thursday called off the planned June summit with Kim in Singapore, blaming "open hostility" from the North Korean regime and warning Pyongyang against committing any "foolish or reckless acts".

In a letter to Kim, Trump wrote that he would not go ahead with the meeting following what the White House called a "trail of broken promises" by the North.

North Korea last week failed to attend a meeting with the United States to work on logistical preparations for the summit.

Pyongyang has since called the decision "extremely regrettable", but said that it was still willing to talk to Trump.

Trump, however, also noted on Friday that the United States was having "productive talks" about reinstating the June 12 summit with Kim, and indicated the meet could be salvaged.

The Politico magazine has also reported that an advance team of 30 White House and State Department officials was preparing to leave for Singapore later this weekend./.

VNF/CNA