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Trump Says Got Along With Kim From Beginning of Meeting

© REUTERS / Jonathan ErnstU.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un leave after signing documents that acknowledge the progress of the talks and pledge to keep momentum going, after their summit at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa island in Singapore June 12, 2018
U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un leave after signing documents that acknowledge the progress of the talks and pledge to keep momentum going, after their summit at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa island in Singapore June 12, 2018 - Sputnik International
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US President Donald Trump said at a press conference on Tuesday following the negotiations with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un that the two politicians had managed to get to know each other in a short period of time, adding that they got along from the very beginning of the encounter.

Earlier on Tuesday, Kim and Trump met for an historic summit in Singapore. The two leaders held one-on-one talks, which were followed by consultations in an expanded format and a working lunch. Following the negotiations, the two leaders signed a document, which consisted of four main pillars implying new US-North Korean relations, Pyongyang's demilitarization, joint work for the sake of peace on the Korean Peninsula and recovering the remains of prisoners of war and soldiers who went missing in action.

"From the beginning we got along," Trump told journalists at the press conference following the meeting.

"It's my honor to address to the people of the world following this historic summit," Donald Trump told to the press. "I'm glad to deliver this message of peace."

"I want to thank Chairman Kim for the step toward a bright future. Chairman Kim is a very honest, direct and productive man," the US president said.

READ MORE: Twitter Hails Historic Face-to-Face #TrumpKim Handshake (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

"We've entered a glorious new era of security and prosperity," Mr. Trump added.

Korean War Will End

The president also expressed hopes that the Korean War would officially end soon. "Now we can have hope that it will soon end and it will, it will soon end," Trump said adding that "yesterday's war should not be tomorrow's war."

"We agreed to implement our agreement as soon as possible," Donald Trump told reporters, adding that Kim Jong-un has a strong intention of implementing the agreement.

Denuclearization

North Korea will be denuclearized as quickly as scientifically possible, US President Donald Trump said.

"I think we will do it as fast as it can be done scientifically, as fast as it can be done mechanically," Trump told a press conference after the historic summit.

READ MORE: Kim Commits to 'Complete Denuclearization of Korean Peninsula' in Joint Document

"Chairman Kim has told me that North Korea is already destroying a major missile engine testing site, that is not in your signed document, we agreed to that after the agreement was signed. It is a big thing, for the missiles that they were testing, the site is going to be destroyed very soon," the US president said.

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"Chairman Kim has an incredible chance to create and to see a peaceful future for the people of his country."

Answering the question from a journalist, President Trump said that the US and North Korea have "agreed to a complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula." And the process of denuclearization will be verified.

"It will be verified. It’s gonna be achieved by having a lot of people there. And as we develop a certain trust, and we think we have done that, [US State] Secretary [Mike] Pompeo has been really doing a fantastic job, his staff, everybody, as we do that, we are gonna have a lot of people there and we are gonna be working with them on lot of other things. But this is complete denuclearization of North Korea and it will be verified," Trump said

Military Drills on Korean Peninsula

The president also noted that the US will stop military drills on the Korean Peninsula if talks with the DPRK move ahead.

"We have right now 32,000 soldiers in South Korea and I’d like to be able to bring them back home, but that’s not part of the equation right now, at some point I hope it will be, but not right now. We will be stopping the war games which will save us a tremendous amount of money, unless until we see the future negotiation is not going along it should," Trump said after the historic summit.

READ MORE: World Follows Every Step of Historic Trump-Kim Summit

However, the United States does not intend to downscale its military capabilities in the region at the moment within the security assurances provided to Pyongyang.

"No, we are not reducing anything. At some point I have to be honest, I used to say this during my campaign… I want to get our soldiers out, I want to bring our soldiers back home. We have right now 32,000 soldiers in South Korea. And I would like to be able to bring them back home," Trump said, adding that it was not the time for it right now.

Human Rights

Speaking about the human rights problem in the DPRK, Donald Trump told journalists that they had discussed this issue. "Yes, it was discussed. It will be discussed more in the future," he said.

"It was discussed relatively briefly compared to denuclearization," Trump said adding, "Kim Jong-un will do things. He is a very smart man, good negotiator."

READ MORE: Singapore's PM Says Kim ‘Wants to Go Onto New Path’ Meeting With Trump

The two leaders also discussed the issue of Japanese citizens being abducted by North Korea.

"Yes, it did, abduction, absolutely, as Prime Minister [Shinzo] Abe said, one of his certainly, other than the whole denuking subject, certainly, his I would say main point [abduction], and I brought it up absolutely and they are gonna be working on that. We did not put it down in the document but it will be worked on," Trump told a reporter when answering a question whether the issue of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea was touched upon.

Visit to Pyongyang

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Trump also noted that Kim Jong-un will be invited to the White House at an appropriate time. The US president also expressed his readiness to pay a visit to Pyongyang when an "appropriate" time comes along.

"At a certain time, I will. I said that it will be a day that I very much look forward to at the appropriate time. And then I also will be inviting Chairman Kim at the appropriate time to the White House … And he has accepted it [the invitation]. I said at the appropriate time, we want to go a little bit further down the road," Trump told reporters, while replying to a question on his plans to visit Pyongyang.

Sanctions Against DPRK

Sanctions against North Korea will remain in place for now, Donald Trump said at the press conference after the historic summit with Kim Jong-un.

"The sanctions will come off when we are sure that the nukes are no longer a factor," Trump told journalists. "I hope it is soon… at a certain point I look forward to taking them off."

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