Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday praised President Donald Trump's announcement of the June 12 summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, expressing hope the session "will further our longtime goal of denuclearizing the Korean peninsula."
"I congratulate President Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and the rest of the president's team on this significant step," the Kentucky Republican said in a statement.
"I share in the hopes of our entire nation that the June 12 meeting will further our longtime goal of denuclearizing the Korean peninsula."
Trump announced on Twitter that he and Kim would meet in Singapore, saying "we will both try to make it a very special moment for World Peace."
The post came after Trump greeted the three Americans who had been held captive prisoner in North Korea after they arrived at a U.S. military base outside Washington.
They were released by Kim — and Trump said on their arrival that he believed the dictator wanted to bring Pyongyang "into the real world" and expressed high hopes for their planned meeting.
In his statement, McConnell referenced remarks Pompeo made when he was sworn in as the nation's top diplomat last week.
"As Secretary Pompeo noted, the United States is committed to the permanent, verifiable, irreversible dismantling of North Korea's weapons of mass destruction program," he said.
"I share that goal, and if it proves unachievable through these talks, I support a continuation of the policy of maximum pressure on the regime."
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