Trump-Kim summit2.0 on Feb 27-28

US President Donald Trump announced the time and date for his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on February 27 and 28 in Vietnam.

Addressing the Congress and the nation in his much awaited State of the Union on Tuesday, Trump said: "Our hostages have come home, nuclear testing has stopped, and there has not been a missile launch in 15 months. If I had not been elected President of the United States, we would right now, in my opinion, be in a major war with North Korea. Much work remains to be done, but my relationship with Kim Jong-un is a good one."

However, a US official said the Trump administration still have to finalise last points with the North Koreans.

Stephen Biegun, the American envoy for North Korea talks, was in Pyongyang on Wednesday to hold talks ahead of the Vietnam summit.

Biegun aimed to establish a roadmap for denuclearisation with North Korea. His visit comes as a UN report warned that North Korea was committing "massive" breaches of sanctions and continuing its weapons programme, the BBC said.

Trump and Kim had met in Singapore in June generating significant coverage and optimism, but concrete developments were still awaited.

Plans for the second summit have been in the works since the two leaders' historic talks last year. The June 2018 summit was the first ever meeting between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader.

--IANS

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