North Korea's Kim Jong-un addresses talks with US for the first time

North Korea leader Kim Jong-un, for the first time, made a direct mention ofthe possible talks with the US over denuclearisation during a meeting on Monday ahead of a planned summit with Trump.

At the meeting of party officials on Monday, Kim delivered a report "on the development of the recent situation on the Korean peninsula", including the separate summit with South Korea to be held later this month.

The North Korean leader also talked about the "prospect of the DPRK-US dialogue” and “strategic and tactical issues to be maintained” by the party, “including the future policy of international relations and the orientation corresponding to them.”

United States President Donald Trump on Monday announced that the meeting with Kim Jong-un will take place in May or early June and said the summit will be an "exciting thing for the world".

The announcement came a day after Trump's administration revealed that North Korea has confirmed that it was willing to discuss denuclearisation with them.

"We have a meeting that is being set up with North Korea, so that will be very exciting, I think, for the world. I think it's going to be a very exciting thing for the world," The New York Times quoted Trump as saying.

Trump made this announcement when he was interacting with reporters at the beginning of a cabinet meeting at the White House.

There was no immediate word on the possible venue for the talks, which would be the first ever between a sitting USpresident and North Korean leader.

“The US has confirmed that Kim Jong Un is willing to discuss the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula‎,” said a second USofficial.

US and North Korean officials have held secret contacts recently in which Pyongyang directly confirmed its willingness to hold the unprecedented summit, the official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The communications, still at a preliminary stage, have involved State Department officials talking to North Korea apparently through its United Nations mission, and intelligence officers from both sides using a separate backchannel, the official said.

Until now, the United States had relied mostly on ally South Korea’s assurance of Kim’s intentions. However, Pyongyang has never officially confirmed its offer of denuclearisation talks to the White House, which was delivered by a South Korean envoy.