US and North Korea negotiating location for second summit: Trump

Talks are underway to agree on a location for a second meeting between Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, and Donald Trump, the US president.

Trump confirmed on Sunday that the US was “negotiating a location” for a follow-up to the June Singapore summit, adding that he had spoken to Kim “indirectly”, reported CNN.

The president also claimed that the US was enjoying a “very good dialogue” with Pyongyang, despite a warning issued last week by Kim during his New Year’s speech that he may need to pursue a “new way” on nuclear disarmament if Washington did not lift crippling sanctions against his regime.

Trump insisted to reporters outside the White House on Sunday that negotiations were running smoothly. “There’s no rockets. There’s no anything. We’re doing very well,” he said.

He stressed, however, that there would be no compromise on sanctions, which would remain "in full force and effect,” claiming that his leadership had averted a war. “You would right now be in a nice, big fat war in Asia with North Korea if I wasn't elected president," Trump said.

At their first meeting in Singapore, Kim and Trump pledged to move towards denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula in a vague agreement that did not define specific steps on how to do so.

The US president’s upbeat depiction of talks with Pyongyang contrasts with somewhat more ominous soundings from the North Korean regime.

In his speech last week, Kim reiterated his commitment to achieving denuclearisation and pledged that relations with the US could progress at a “fast speed” if it made concessions.

But he also urged Washington not to “misjudge” his patience and demanded that the US drop its push for Pyongyang to unilaterally disarm and take corresponding measures of its own.

Negotiations between the two sides have been in deadlock for months, and Stephen Biegun, the US special envoy for North Korea, has reportedly made little headway in meeting key Pyongyang officials.

Meari, a North Korean propaganda website, repeated Kim’s call for reciprocity on Monday, accusing Washington of acting in a “rude” manner and warning of “consequences” if it continued to pressure Pyongyang, reported the Yonhap news agency.

"Our republic has granted an excessive amount of goodwill and generosity to the US," it said. "Now is the time for the US to act with corresponding measures for the republic's sincere efforts."

Speculation is also rising that the suspected defection of Jo Song-gil, North Korea’s acting ambassador to Rome, could present another hurdle to Pyongyang’s relations with Washington if he attempts to seek asylum in the US.

For now, however, President Trump is insisting that the White House will set up a meeting with Kim in the “not too distant future”, telling reporters last week that he had received a “great” letter from the North Korean leader in December.

Several sites are believed to be under consideration for a second summit, including Vietnam, Indonesia, Hawaii, Mongolia and the demilitarised zone dividing the two Koreas.