Trump says DPRK-US talks going well, expects letter from Kim

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump said Thursday that the talks with a delegation from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in New York are going "very well."

He said that he is expecting the delegation to come to Washington on Friday to deliver a letter from the DPRK's top leader Kim Jong-un.

Trump made the remarks at the Joint Base Andrews near Washington on his way to Houston, minutes after the delegation from Pyongyang led by Kim Yong-chol, vice chairman of the DPRK's ruling Workers' Party of Korea Central Committee, started talks with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in New York.

Pompeo, who headed to New York on Wednesday afternoon after meeting with Trump at the White House, had dinner with Kim on Wednesday night. The two were expected to have a full-day meeting on Thursday.

Trump also told reporters that the negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang "are in good hands," but refused to say if the current detente could secure a deal for a summit in Singapore on June 12.

The White House said Wednesday that the multi-track talks between Washington and Pyongyang had gone well and it still expected a June 12 meeting between the leaders of the two countries will take place.