UN welcomes 2nd Kim-Trump summit: spokesperson

The United Nations welcomes the upcoming summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un, a UN spokesperson said Tuesday.

"We very much welcome this dialogue between the leaders of the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea," said Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, at a regular press briefing.

Guterres in his January press briefing said it was high time to make sure that negotiations between the United States and the DPRK start again seriously and that a road map is clearly defined for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, Dujarric recalled.

But the spokesperson said he did not want to "predict or project what the outcomes of this summit will be," but would react to it, "depending on what it said."

Trump and Kim are set to meet in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi for their second summit. They are expected to meet first on Wednesday night and have dinner together, and then hold discussion on Thursday joined by their respective delegates.

Issues such as a roadmap for denuclearization, the easing of sanctions against the DPRK and whether to issue a war-ending declaration are expected to be high on the agenda.

The first DPRK-U.S. summit, held in June 2018 in Singapore, resulted in improved bilateral ties. In a joint statement signed after their meeting, Trump pledged to provide security guarantees to the DPRK while Kim reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to a complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)