SEOUL: North Korean leader
Kim Jong-un hailed a planned meeting with US President
Donald Trump as a "historic" opportunity during talks with America's top diplomat
Mike Pompeo in Pyongyang, according to state media on Thursday.
Kim, who is at the centre of a whirlwind of diplomacy as the international community looks to curtail the North's nuclear programme, said his summit with Trump "would be a historic meeting" and an "excellent first step".
He said it would help towards improving the situation on the
Korean peninsula and the "building of a good future", in comments published on
North Korea's official KCNA news agency.
It was the first time Kim is known to have acknowledged the planned meeting with Trump, according to South Korean news agency Yonhap.
Pompeo was in the North to discuss arrangements for the high-stakes summit, expected within weeks, as well as to secure the release of three Americans detained in North Korea.
Kim said he had granted "amnesty" to the three men "who have been detained in the DPRK for their anti-DPRK hostilities", according to KCNA.
The move is seen as a diplomatic victory for Washington and removes the last major obstacle to the summit between the Cold War foes.
TV screen showing file footages of Donald Trump and North Korean leader