EU's top diplomat hails Trump-Kim summit

The European Union's top diplomat on Tuesday hailed the historic summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore as a crucial step towards a diplomatic solution to de-escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Federica Mogherini, the EU's high representative for foreign affairs, said the meeting between Trump and Kim demonstrated that diplomacy paved the way forward to peace in the region, Efe news reported.

"The ultimate goal, shared by the entire international community and as expressed by the United Nations Security Council, remains the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula," according to the press statement released by Mogherini's office.

"The joint statement signed by the US and North Korea) leaders today gives a clear signal that this goal can be achieved," it added, thanking South Korean President Moon Jae-in for his leadership in laying the groundwork that led to the summit.

Following the landmark summit in Singapore, Trump announced that the US would end its practice of staging war games on the Korean Peninsula in exchange the complete denuclearisation of North Korea, which Kim has said he would fulfil.

"Chairman Kim has before him an opportunity like no other to be remembered as the leader who ushered in a glorious new era of prosperity for his people," Trump told reporters.

Tuesday's summit in Singapore, aimed at addressing the possible denuclearisation of North Korea, is the first between the two countries' heads of state after nearly 70 years of confrontation in the wake of the Korean War (1950-1953), and 25 years of failed negotiations and tensions over the North Korea's nuclear programme.

--IANS

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