This archive report was first published on 29 June 2019.
On June 29, 2019, President Trump tweeted that he would visit the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea on Sunday, and invited North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to meet him there for their third get-together.
Trump's tweet, posted as he started the second of two days of meetings in Osaka, Japan, said he would be happy to greet Kim across the line that has divided Korea for nearly 75 years.
"I will be leaving Japan for South Korea (with President Moon)," the tweet said. "While there, if Chairman Kim of North Korea sees this, I would meet him at the Border/DMZ just to shake his hand and say Hello(?)!"
North Korea welcomed the idea of a meeting, with Choe Son-hui, the country's first vice foreign minister, saying it was a "very interesting suggestion" but that no official proposal had been received.
Trump's tweet caught the diplomatic corps in Asia and even his own advisers off balance, as the last meeting between the two leaders in Hanoi, Vietnam, in February ended in dramatic failure.
However, Trump has made clear in recent days that he is eager to restart negotiations aimed at persuading North Korea to eliminate its nuclear arsenal.
