President Donald Trump revealed his administration has a "very good working relationship" with North Korea as the White House prepares for an historic summit between the countries' two leaders, noting that the search for meeting locations is down to two countries.
Trump spoke at a joint White House pass conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel Friday afternoon and was asked about the situation on the North Korean peninsula, which has drastically improved in recent months.
North Korea has expressed an interest in scrapping its nuclear weapons program, while its leader Kim Jong Un met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in Friday. Those talks resulted in the two leaders agreeing to officially end the Korean War.
"We have a very good working relationship. We're setting up a meeting," Trump said. "Things have changed very radically from a few months ago. You know the name calling and a lot of other things.
"We get a kick every once in a while that I'll be watching people that failed so badly over the last 25 years explaining to me how to make a deal with North Korea. I get a big, big kick out of that."
The peace summit between Trump and Kim is expected to take place in May or June. The White House has looked at several host sites for it.
"We're down to two countries as to a site," Trump said.
Newly installed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo secretly met with Kim on Easter weekend when he was the director of the CIA. The White House released a photo of Pompeo greeting the reclusive leader after he was confirmed as America's top diplomat Thursday.
Trump was later asked if he feels it's his responsibility to broker a peace deal with North Korea so the two countries on the peninsula can live in harmony and the rest of the world can breathe easier.
"This is beyond the United States. This is a world problem," Trump said. "It's something that I hope I'm able to do for the world."
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