Trump thanks Kim for not showcasing ICBMs at North Korea military parade
De-escalating the nuclear threat from North Korea
Trump thanks Kim for not showcasing ICBMs at North Korea military parade
US President Donald Trump has thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un for not showcasing his country's nuclear missiles at the military parade held yesterday in Pyongyang. The parade was held to celebrate 70 years of North Korea's founding.
"This is a big and very positive statement from North Korea," Trump said. "Thank you To Chairman Kim. We will both prove everyone wrong!"
"There is nothing like good dialogue from two people that like each other! Much better than before I took office," Trump added.
The military parade is an annual feature in Pyongyang.
This year too, line upon line of goose-stepping soldiers and columns of tanks shook the ground before giving way to chanting crowds waving flags and flowers as they passed a review stand where North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sat with a special envoy from China, as well as other visiting foreigners -- but there were no ICBMs.
The parade instead highlighted themes of military accomplishment, national development, and international engagement.
Nor were there any nuclear tests to mark the holiday, as has happened in each of the last two years.
This had been expected, with North Korea watchers saying Kim would not have wanted to sour the progress — on denuclearising North Korea — made between him and Trump. That said, doubts over Kim's commitment to abandoning nuclear weapons are beginning to rise again.
(With inputs from Reuters)