SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is hoping for a second summit with US President Donald Trump soon, the South’s President Moon Jae-in said Thursday after a three-day trip to his neighbor.
“Chairman Kim Jong Un expressed hopes for a second summit with President Trump at an early date,” Moon told reporters on his return to Seoul.
Kim and Trump held a historic and high-profile meeting in Singapore in June, where the North’s leader committed to work toward denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, but no details were agreed.
Washington and Pyongyang have subsequently sparred over what that means and how it will be achieved, with the Trump administration consistently referring to the denuclearization of North Korea specifically.
The process had become deadlocked until Moon’s trip to Pyongyang, where Kim agreed to permanently dismantle a missile testing site.
Experts were skeptical but the Trump administration immediately welcomed the move, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo inviting his North Korean counterpart to meet next week on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
Kim also hoped Pompeo would soon visit the North again, Moon said, and was seeking “fast progress in denuclearization.”
Kim seeks second Trump summit ‘at an early date’: Moon
Kim seeks second Trump summit ‘at an early date’: Moon
- Kim and Trump held a historic and high-profile meeting in Singapore in June, where the North’s leader committed to work toward denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, but no details were agreed.
- Washington and Pyongyang have subsequently sparred over what that means and how it will be achieved.
Macron asks Meloni not to ‘comment’ on France’s affairs after activist remark
- The killing has fueled political tensions in France ahead of municipal elections in March
- Meloni said the killing of Deranque was “a wound for all of Europe“
NEW DELHI: President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday called on Giorgia Meloni to stop “commenting on what is happening in other people’s countries,” after the Italian prime minister expressed shock at the fatal beating of a far-right activist in France.
Quentin Deranque, 23, died from head injuries after being attacked by at least six people last week on the sidelines of a far-right protest at a university in the city of Lyon. Most of the 11 suspects detained are from far left movements, according to a source close to the investigation.
The killing has fueled political tensions in France ahead of municipal elections in March and the 2027 presidential race, in which the far-right National Rally (RN) party is seen as having its best chance yet at winning the top job.
On Wednesday, Meloni said the killing of Deranque was “a wound for all of Europe.”
“Let everyone stay in their own lane,” Macron shot back in New Delhi, on the sidelines of an official visit to India.
Macron also said there was no place in France “for movements that adopt and legitimize violence.”
“Nothing can justify violent action — neither on one side nor the other, and not even in a head-to-head confrontation that is deadly for the republic,” he said.
Macron is “concerned about the situation, which he is closely monitoring,” a member of the French president’s team said earlier Thursday.
“We must avoid any spiral of violence,” they said.
Eleven people — eight men and three women — were taken into custody as part of the investigation into “intentional homicide.”
Among them are two parliamentary assistants to Raphael Arnault, a member of parliament from the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party, as well as a former intern.
A lawyer for Deranque’s parents said they called “for calm and restraint.”
“The family condemns any call for violence. Any form of political violence,” Fabien Rajon told broadcaster RTL.
On Wednesday, Jordan Bardella, head of the far-right National Rally (RN), accused Macron and former prime ministers Gabriel Attal and Edouard Philippe of boosting the hard-left.
