Trump: Summit With Kim Jong Un To Take Place June 12 In Singapore
WASHINGTON (CBSNewYork/AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday that his "highly anticipated" summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will take place June 12 in Singapore.
The president made the announcement Thursday on Twitter, hours after he welcomed home three Americans freed by North Korea when they arrived at Joint Base Andrews near Washington.
"The highly anticipated meeting between Kim Jong Un and myself will take place in Singapore on June 12th. We will both try to make it a very special moment for World Peace!"
Speaking with the former detainees by his side earlier Thursday morning, Trump called it a "great honor" to welcome the men to the U.S.
"This is a special night for these three really great people and congratulations on being in this country," the president said.
First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President Mike Pence. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other top officials joined Trump to celebrate the occasion after the trio touched down just before 3 a.m. Thursday.
Kim Dong Chul, Kim Hak Song and Tony Kim, two teachers and a businessman, were held in North Korea for more than a year on charges of committing anti-state activities, including spying and hostile acts.
The move to let the men go back to the U.S. is seen as a goodwill gesture on the part of Kim. Trump thanked Kim for releasing the Americans and said he believes Kim wants to reach an agreement on denuclearizing the Korean peninsula.
"I really think he wants to do something," the president said. "My proudest achievement will be, this is a part of it, will be when we denuclearize that entire peninsula."
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., however, said Trump's reaction sets a bad example.
"Their release should not be exulted, it should be expected," he said. "If our adversaries look at what the president has said in reaction to Kim Jong-Un, why shouldn't they detain American citizens and get a huge pat on the back when they release them?"
When asked how it feels to be home, one of the detainees said through a translator "it's like a dream and we're very, very happy."
"We were treated in many different ways," the translator said. "For me, I had to do a lot of labor, but when I got sick, I was also treated by them."
Officials said the three, who were detained between 2015 and 2017, appear to be in good health.
Department officials took great pains on the prisoners' release in North Korea, as well as on their flights to Japan and Alaska, to keep them sequestered not only from the two journalists traveling with Pompeo but also from staffers not immediately involved in their cases. The trio, along with medical personnel, including a psychiatrist, were cloistered in the middle of Pompeo's plane in a small section of 12 business class-size seats that was cordoned off by curtains on both ends.
State Department officials refused to discuss anything but the most basic details of their conditions, citing privacy concerns in keeping with the minimal amount of information they had released since the men were imprisoned.
The Americans had boarded Pompeo's plane out of North Korea without assistance and then transferred in Japan to the Boeing C-40 outfitted with medical facilities for the trip back to the U.S.
Shortly after they touched down on American soil in Alaska — for a refueling stop Wednesday afternoon — the State Department released a statement from the freed men.
"We would like to express our deep appreciation to the United States government, President Trump, Secretary Pompeo, and the people of the United States for bringing us home," they said. "We thank God, and all our families and friends who prayed for us and for our return. God Bless America, the greatest nation in the world."
Pompeo had secured their release in Pyongyang after meeting with Kim on final plans for the Trump-Kim summit.
"It's a great honor but the true honor is going to be when we have a victory of getting rid of nuclear weapons," Trump said.
Meanwhile, the South Korean president has suggested Trump be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to calm tensions in the Korean peninsula.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)