North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, shakes hands with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China. (Source: PTI photo)
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Chinese President Xi Jinping told him that a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had gone very well and that Kim looked forward to meeting with Trump.
“Received message last night from XI Jinping of China that his meeting with Kim Jong-Un went very well and that KIM looks forward to his meeting with me. In the meantime, and unfortunately, maximum sanctions and pressure must be maintained at all cost!” he said in a tweet.
After two days of speculation, China announced on Wednesday that Kim had visited Beijing and met Xi, who elicited a pledge from the isolated leader to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.
The trip was Kim’s first known journey abroad since he assumed power in 2011 and is believed by analysts to serve as preparation for upcoming summits with South Korea and the United States.
China briefed Trump on the meetings, according to the White House, which said the denuclearization pledge was “further evidence that our campaign of maximum pressure is creating the appropriate atmosphere for dialogue with North Korea.”