Trump: We have direct talks with North Korea

Trump: We have direct talks with North Korea
President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he hoped to hold a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and said five places were being studied to host the meeting, but suggested it might not be held.
During a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Maralago, Florida, the president said that Washington and Pyongyang had started direct talks at a very high level in preparation for the upcoming meeting.
The president pointed out that the lesson of the results that will explain the meeting and not the contract itself.
He said he was giving South Korea his "blessing" for "talks on ending the war" with its northern neighbor.
For his part, the Japanese Prime Minister expressed the hope that the expected summit between Trump and Kim will lead to concrete progress on the nuclear issue and other issues.
The White House said in a statement Tuesday that the president had pledged during his visit to Japan last November to defend the Japanese people, and that his administration agreed to sell Tokyo advanced missile defense technology, strengthening its protection from the threats of North Korean ballistic missiles.
President Donald H. Trump will meet Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Maralago, Florida, where he will discuss several issues, including North Korea and the positions of its leader Kim Jong-un, who is expected to meet with President Bush within weeks.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said the Trump and Abe talks would focus mainly on preparing for discussions with North Korea.
A US official said preparations were under way to meet Trump and Kim, saying the president's date of May or early June was still in place.
The visit of the Japanese Prime Minister lasts two days.