| Trump, Putin Discuss N. Korean Denuclearization |
| 2018-07-17 Updated. |
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 Anchor: U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held their first official summit in Finland on Monday. Although much time was spent seeking to dispel the alleged Russian election meddling in 2016, the two leaders did note that they discussed ways to cooperate on key issues, including North Korea's denuclearization,
Kim Bum-soo has more.
Report: U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held their first full-fledged meeting in Finland on Monday.
[Sound bite: US President Donald Trump]
"We also discussed one of the most critical challenges facing humanity: nuclear proliferation."
In a joint press conference following the talks, Trump expressed confidence that they can work together to denuclearize North Korea.
[Sound bite: US President Donald Trump]
“I provided an update on my meeting last month with Chairman Kim on the denuclearization of North Korea and after today I am very sure that President Putin and Russia want very much to end that problem, going to work with us and I appreciate that commitment."
Putin simply stated that he is glad that the Korean Peninsula issue is starting to be resolved.
[Sound bite: Russian President Vladimir Putin (Russian)]
"It's good that the issue of the Korean Peninsula started to resolve gradually. To a large extent it became possible because President Trump personally got involved into the settlement, building the dialogue in the spirit of cooperation and not confrontation."
However, it remains unclear if Trump secured Putin's help to maintain global sanctions and pressure on the Kim Jong-un regime.
While Trump sought Putin's cooperation, much of their discussions seemed to have focused on the alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Standing next to Putin, Trump questioned U.S. intelligence agencies’ conclusions that Russia intervened in the election. The American president called the federal investigation "a disaster" for the U.S. while Putin demanded evidence of something he said had never been proved.
U.S. lawmakers criticized Trump for missing a good opportunity to confront Putin on the election meddling.
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News. |
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