Trump says US in no hurry to talk with DPRK

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump said on Friday that the United States is in no hurry regarding its talks with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

"Many people have asked how we are doing in our negotiations with North Korea (the DPRK) - I always reply by saying we are in no hurry," Trump tweeted.

He added that "there is wonderful potential for great economic success for that country... Kim Jong-un sees it better than anyone and will fully take advantage of it for his people."

"We are doing just fine!" said the US president.

Negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington saw little progress in the past few months, as differences between the two sides remained over key issues like the scale of denuclearization, US sanctions, and whether to issue a war-ending declaration.

A planned high-level meeting between Pompeo and a senior DPRK official in New York was cancelled, citing scheduling issue.

Meanwhile, momentum for talks continued. Trump revealed on Dec 1 that his second meeting with Kim Jong-un, the DPRK's top leader, was likely to happen in January or February next year.

The first-ever Kim-Trump meeting occurred in Singapore in June, followed by a joint statement in which the United States agreed to provide security guarantee to the DPRK in return for Pyongyang's commitment to denuclearization.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said recently that China encourages the United States and the DPRK to advance denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.