published Mar 8, 2018, 6:50:44 PM, by Toluse Olorunnipa and Kanga Kong
(Bloomberg) —

U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the White House said, in what would be an unprecedented summit.

“He will accept the invitation to meet with Kim Jong Un at a place and time to be determined,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement late Thursday in Washington. “We look forward to the denuclearization of North Korea. In the meantime, all sanctions and maximum pressure must remain.”

Earlier, South Korean National Security Council chief Chung Eui-yong told reporters that Kim “expressed his eagerness to meet President Trump as soon as possible” and that Trump “said he would meet Kim Jong Un by May to achieve permanent denuclearization.”

Kim is committed to denuclearization and would refrain from nuclear or missile tests, Chung said. The North Korean leader also understands that routine U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises must continue, Chung said, adding that the pressure campaign will continue “until North Korea matches its words with concrete actions.”

U.S. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster will brief the UN Security Council on the latest developments on March 12, according to a European diplomat who asked not to be identified since the announcement isn’t public. Trump earlier surprised reporters at the White House with news that South Korean officials would be making a “major” announcement at 7 p.m. local time.

A South Korean delegation is in Washington this week briefing administration officials about their recent talks in Pyongyang, which produced speculation that the U.S. and North Korea may enter talks over Kim Jong Un’s nuclear weapons program. During their meetings in Pyongyang, North Korean officials indicated they would consider halting their nuclear weapons program if the U.S. can guarantee the safety of Kim’s regime.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, traveling in Ethiopia on Thursday, had tamped down hopes for a breakthrough with North Korea, saying “We’re a long way from negotiations, we just need to be very clear-eyed and realistic about it.” South Korean President Moon Jae-in made similar comments, saying “This is just a start, and we can’t be optimistic just yet.”

The U.S. and North Korea have been at loggerheads since the Korean War ended without a peace treaty almost 65 years ago, and Kim’s government has repeatedly said nuclear weapons were necessary to deter any U.S.-led military action. Over the years, the Kim dynasty has raised the prospect of abandoning its nuclear-weapons program if the U.S. gave up policies it considers hostile.

Trump and Kim traded increasingly tense barbs after the U.S. president took office in January 2017. Trump vowed to bring “fire and fury” down on North Korea if forced to do so, while Kim derided the U.S. president as a “dotard” as he ramped up his missile and nuclear tests.

Tensions appeared to ease after South Korea agreed to let North Korean athletes participate in the Winter Olympic Games last month, though a meeting between Vice President Mike Pence and Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, never materialized.

-With assistance from Justin Sink and Margaret Talev.To contact the reporters on this story: Toluse Olorunnipa in Washington at tolorunnipa@bloomberg.net ;Kanga Kong in Seoul at kkong50@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Bill Faries at wfaries@bloomberg.net ;Daniel Ten Kate at dtenkate@bloomberg.net Mike Dorning, Andy Sharp
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