[AP/Yonhap News Photo ]
WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Donald Trump offered his "blessing" to the Koreas to end their decades-long war. Trump appeared to speak to reports the two Koreas could discuss a peace treaty to formally end the 1953-53 Korean War when their leaders meet for a summit next week.
"They do have my blessing to discuss the end to the war," he said at a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. "People don't realize the Korean War has not ended. It's going on right now. And they are discussing an end to the war. So, subject to a deal, they would certainly have my blessing. And they do have my blessing to discuss that."
South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un are set to meet on April 27 to talk about denuclearizing the North and bringing peace to the peninsula. The two sides have technically been at war since the three-year conflict ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.
Trump said five different locations are being looked at for his own meeting with Kim. But the U.S. is not among them, he indicated by shaking his head in response to a reporter's question. "That will be taking place probably in early June or a little before that -- assuming things go well," he said. "It's possible things won't go well and we won't have the meetings, and we'll just continue to go along this very strong path that we've taken."
Possible sites for the summit include Mongolia, Sweden, Switzerland and the demilitarized zone on the inter-Korean border, according to pundits.
(Yonhap)
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
