Second US-North Korea meeting may be held in Hanoi

Leader Kim Jong-un and President Donald Trump. Photo: AP

Bloomberg quoted information from the South Korean newspaper Munhwa Ilbo, according to which representatives of the US and North Korea held a meeting earlier in Hanoi, where the two sides discussed the possibility of holding a second summit.

Washington has also selected a number of ideal locations for the second US-North Korea meeting such as: Indonesia, Mongolia, Hawaii or at the Panmunjom truce village between North Korea and South Korea.

Earlier, on January 6, President Donald Trump said that the US was negotiating with North Korea about the location of the summit and would announce it soon. He also added that the US had "a very good dialogue" with North Korea, and that he had "spoken indirectly" with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

At the first US-North Korea summit in June 2018 in Singapore, the two leaders agreed to adopt a joint statement, aiming for complete denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula. However, so far, this process has not made much progress, due to many disagreements between the two sides. The US has put pressure on North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons before lifting economic sanctions, while Pyongyang wants economic benefits and a formal agreement to end the Korean War.

Most recently, last December, President Trump announced that the next meeting with Leader Kim Jong-un would likely be held in January or February 2019.