President Donald Trump said Tuesday that South Korean President Moon Jae-in was "very nice" to say he deserved the Nobel Peace Prize for his North Korea efforts — adding that summit details with dictator Kim Jong Un would be announced "over the next couple of days."
"I think President Moon was very nice when he suggested it," Trump told reporters, flanked by the crew and some passengers of Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 that was forced into an emergency landing in Philadelphia after an engine exploded two weeks ago.
"The main thing, I want to get peace.
"It was a big problem," Trump said of Kim's nuclear and weapons ambitions, "and I think it's going to work out well."
President Moon said Monday that Trump should receive the Nobel for trying to end the standoff with Pyongyang, a South Korean official said on Monday.
"President Trump should win the Nobel Peace Prize," Moon told senior secretaries, according to a presidential Blue House official who briefed media. "What we need is only peace."
Moon and the North's Kim pledged Friday to end the hostilities between the countries — technically at war since the 1953 armistice — and work toward "complete denuclearization" of the Korean peninsula.
Of his upcoming meeting with Kim, Trump told reporters Tuesday: "We're setting up meetings right now — and I think it's probably going to be announced over the next couple of days, location and date.
"But I thought it was very generous of President Moon of South Korea to make that statement and I appreciate it.
"But the main thing is to get it done," Trump said. "I want to get it done."
President Trump thanked the Southwest Airlines crew for its heroism after the April 17 incident, when the New York-to-Dallas plane was forced into an emergency landing in Philadelphia after an engine exploded.
The blast damaged the plane's fuselage ultimately killed Jennifer Riordan, 43, a mother of two, after she was partially sucked out of a window broken by shrapnel.
Seven others were injured. The Boeing 737 was at 30,000 feet when it exploded.
President Trump congratulated Capt. Tammie Jo Shults and First Officer Darren Ellisor, the pilots, for their efforts, along with three flight attendants and five passengers.
"Our hearts break for Jennifer Riordan," Trump said. "We send our prayers to Jennifer's husband and beautiful children.
"We ask to hold them close as they lost a beautiful mother and wife."
He noted that Shults was one of the first women to fly tactical fighter jets in the U.S. Navy.
"You drew from years of training and safety — and you knew how to land that plane," Trump said. "We salute you and every member of this crew.
"The actions of the crew and passengers of Southwest Flight 1380 show the great character of our nation," Trump later added. "We're very, very proud of them — and God bless you all.
"It is really an honor to meet you all."
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