On Friday, US President Donald Trump shared that the date and location for the US-North Korean summit has finally been set, building further suspense over the talks after South Korea expressed its intent to oppose the withdrawal of US troops from the country.
According to the White House, the first meeting between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may take place in the coming weeks and Trump will be pushing North Korea to give up its nuclear weaponry.
As for the location of the talks, the demilitarized zone or the DMZ between North Korea and South Korea and Singapore are currently being considered. However, Trump has expressed this week that he is preferring the DMZ to be the location for the talks, but Singapore was also possible.
Last month, the DMZ's The Peace House was the venue for the meeting between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
Moon would also be visiting the White House on May 22nd according to the White House, as part of showing their unity before the Trump-Kim summit. The announcement of Moon's visit was noted after Trump's National Security Adviser John Bolton met up with his South Korean counterpart Chung Eui-yong on Friday at the White House.
Chung, however, told reporters that it was 'unacceptable that the issue of the US forces Korea keeps being raised.'
Reports from The New York Times said that Trump has asked the Pentagon for possible troop withdrawal options, but Trump denied the report and Bolton even added it was 'utter nonsense.' In one interview with reporters, Trump said "Now, I have to tell you, at some point into the future, I would like to save the money. But troops are not on the table."
A statement was also made on Friday by the White House, expressing that both Bolton and Chung said that no plans are in place to change the current US-South Korea bilateral defence posture.
No date was given with regards to when the summit will be held, and the White House did not clarify on the issue.
