Kim happy with Trump's summit plans

North Korean top leader Kim Jong-un has expressed "great satisfaction" after receiving a letter from US President Donald Trump that expressed his "unusual determination and will" towards a second summit between the two, the North's state media said.

His comments came after he met with one of his top aides who went to Washington last week, the BBC quoted the KCNA as saying on Thursday.

"Kim Jong-un said that we will believe in President Trump's positive way of thinking, wait with patience and in good faith and, together with the US, advance step by step toward the goal to be reached by the two countries," North Korean state run news agency KCNA said.

The report also said Kim "spoke highly of President Trump for expressing his unusual determination and will" towards a second US-North Korea summit.

The conciliatory tone comes after the North Korean leader in his New Year speech warned his country might change course if the US continued its sanctions.

The two sides have been planning the second summit by the end of February, according to the White House. No venue has been announced for the new talks but observers say Vietnam could be a potential location, the BBC reported.

Kim also visited China for talks with President Xi Jinping, as he did before the Singapore summit, while his top negotiator Kim Yong-chol met Trump at the White House.

Last year's rapprochement and the Singapore summit came after a turbulent 2017 marked by North Korea testing missiles that could reach the US mainland and an escalation in rhetoric with both sides trading insults and threats of nuclear destruction.

The first summit ended with a general agreement towards denuclearisation but little has been achieved since. US sanctions remain in place and the North has not provided a detailed account of its nuclear facilities.

--IANS

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