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Trump and Kim Jong-un Meet in DMZ; Donald Trump Gives Hopeful Statements After Talks With South And North Korean Leaders. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired June 30, 2019 - 04:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[04:00:00]

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking Korean).

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it appears they agreed to talk more. The president saying they will designate a team, work out details. He emphasizes that speed is not the object. Just the meeting itself was historic.

Back to where we were before. Another promise for meetings to follow. Fact-checks for the president. He said, prior to his term as president, it was a fiery mess. Relations between U.S. and North Korea; the relations were difficult but the fire and fury were the president's own comments in 2017.

He also claimed inexplicably that it's been 2.5 years of peace between the U.S. and North Korea. That forgets the fire and fury moment. But the fact that North Korea sent home Otto Warmbier, brain damaged and close to death. But Trump claims that things changed when he came to office.

That the two sides are speaking, that has changed.

But where do the discussions go?

And the president appearing to say that this outcome of this bilateral with Kim Jong-un was at least an agreement to get the working level teams back to talking again.

MOON JAE-IN, SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT (through translator): A historic moment was made. So a unique and historic decision was made by President Trump to make this possible today.

Through today's meeting, the denuclearization as well as the establishment of peace, that process on the Korean Peninsula, I believe that we have just overcome a hill in that process. So the 80 million Korean people on the Korean Peninsula have been given hope thanks to today.

As was mentioned by President Trump right now, there will be a designated team of people, so that, within the near future we can get some good results after concrete negotiations and we have taken one big step forward, I believe. So thank you, President Trump.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The initial plan had been for Trump and I to co- visit the O.P. outlet (ph). However, thanks to President Trump's (INAUDIBLE) proposal, this historic meeting had taken place. And now I would like to pay my tribute to the creative and bold approach that President Trump has demonstrated.

And also through this meeting today we're in the process of achieving complete denuclearization and permanent peace. I believe that we have been able to go over a big hurdle. And this has actually presented a big hope for the 80,000 Korean people as well as the people of the whole world.

And so as I leave it, it is also significant progress as the United States and North Korea have agreed to set up teams to begin working along negotiations in the near future. And that itself constitutes a success. So I'm looking forward to great accomplishment through this process. And I'd like to thank President Trump again.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you very much. And I also want to thank Chairman Kim because, frankly, when we put out that notice, knowing the press, like I do, had he had decided not to come, you would have hit me. You would have hit me hard. So we're thanking him and for doing it on such quick notice here, less than 24 hours again, and that's pretty good. We moved mountains.

I want to thank Secret Service and all of the people that worked so hard, our military in particular, all of the people that worked so hard because setting something like this up so quickly is very hard. It's very hard. And I can only say that the meeting was a very good one. Very strong, very solid. Great relationship and we'll see what can happen.

Now we're just seeing if we can do something. But again, we want to get it right. We don't want to -- we're not looking for speed. We're looking to get it right. And in the meantime, there's been no nuclear tests. There's been no ballistic missiles. There's been a lot of goodwill. And that continues to be. Maybe if anything, better. I think probably after today, better than it was even before.

So I want to thank all of the media. I'm going to over to our great military base and I'm going to speak to our troops. And I've been doing this now for about three weeks straight in one form or another, having to do with one thing or another. And I actually look forward to being on Air Force One. We will be --

[04:05:00]

TRUMP: -- heading home. And a lot of you are coming with us. But I look forward to it.

But first, I'm going to say a few words to our troops.

Yes?

QUESTION: President Trump, when you were at the line, at the border itself, can you walk us through what happened?

What did the chairman say to you?

Was it an invitation to you crossing?

(INAUDIBLE).

TRUMP: Yes. We went and met at the line. And in a meeting at the line, I said, would you like me to come across?

He said, I would be so honored.

And that's the way it worked out. And I guess, from what I understand, this is the first time something like that, Mr. Admiral, first time that something like that has happened.

But I asked him, I said, would you like me to come across the line?

He said I would be honored to do that. I would be honored. And I didn't know really what he was going to say. But it was my honor to do it. We had a very good meeting.

QUESTION: Did you extend the invitation for him to come to the United States, sir?

TRUMP: I did. Actually at some point, it will all happen. It all works out. At some point that will all happen. But this was a pretty big move today, I imagine, based on what everybody is telling me. But it was my honor and I said that to him.

And we had a pretty long chat. We were going to have a chat for five minutes as you know and it ended up being pretty long, I guess an hour or something. But it was a very -- this was a very positive day, very positive event. And I think it's good really for the world.

This was a very -- what happened today I think is great for South Korea. I think it's great for North Korea and I think it's great for the world.

And when we started this, we had missiles flying over Japan. They weren't so happy. They would -- they did have the sirens going and a lot of problems. I think you a little remember the case of Hawaii.

You remember that whole situation?

You remember Guam? You remember what was happening there?

I mean, the world was a very tense place. And I became president. And we went through a rough dialogue for a while. You used to cover that very well. But we went through a very rough dialogue and all of a sudden we came together.

So let's see what happens. We have -- Steve is doing a fantastic job. He's going to be representing us in the talks. And we'll be dealing with South Korea. We'll be dealing with President Moon and his people. But pretty much it's going to be the initial talks will be between the United States and with North Korea. And President Moon will be right there.

QUESTION: What was Chairman Kim's response to your invitation?

TRUMP: The invitation initially?

Well, we were contacted almost immediately --

QUESTION: To the United States.

TRUMP: Oh. Well, I just asked him outside, I said, you know what, at the right time, you are going to come over. We're going to go over there. We have a ways to go yet. We'll see. But I would certainly extend the invite. But I actually mentioned out there in front of the press. I said, anytime he wants to do it, but I think we want to take this down to the next step. We'll see what happens. A very, very positive meeting.

And we had a positive meeting, very positive on trade, with President Xi of China. That's was a great meeting we had. See what happens. But it was a great meeting. And again, no hurry. All these people, they hurry with these deals. They turn out to be disastrous. No hurry, no real speed.

Go ahead.

QUESTION: Mr. President, why has Chairman Kim set up a new team since you already had (INAUDIBLE)?

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TRUMP: Well, we have a team. We have a team. We're going to spearhead it. And he is also putting somebody in charge who we know and we like.

QUESTION: Were you able to validate that people were still alive who were previous negotiators?

TRUMP: Well, I think they are. I can tell you the main person is. I know that because we know that. And I would hope the rest are, too.

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TRUMP: But I can tell you they said that the person that we dealt with wasn't. And then I know for a fact he is.

QUESTION: Did the chairman promise that he wouldn't do any more missile tests?

Because there have been a few since --

TRUMP: Well, very small ones. These are missiles that practically every country tests. I mean, these were very -- we don't consider that a missile test. Actually, it wasn't a test. But we're talking about ballistic missiles, long-range ballistic missiles and not only not testing them, hasn't even come close to testing. And most importantly, there were no nuclear tests. If you'll remember, at the end of the Obama administration, and an

early part of my administration, there was tremendous nuclear testing. They had a mountain moved over. You remember the big earthquake, they thought it was a big earthquake. It was a massive 9.someting earthquake. Turned out to be a nuclear test.

So I think we're on a very good path. We're on a very good path. This was a terrific day. And now let's say hello to our great troops.

Are you guys going over there?

I'll see you over there. Thank you all very much.

[04:10:00]

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE)?

TRUMP: They're staying on. I mean, at some point, look, I'm looking forward to taking them off. I don't like sanctions being on this country. I'm looking forward but the sanctions remain, yes.

But at some point during the negotiations, things can happen. That's what we'll be talking about, sanctions. OK? Thank you very much.

SCIUTTO: The president there lauding his bilateral with Kim Jong-un, calling it a legendary moment, saying just the meeting is historic and emphasizing his words that speed is not the object, that he will take his time with these negotiations but that he's optimistic, that unlike past summits that began with face-to-face meetings, historic ones, and did not follow with concrete concessions or agreements, he believes that now, at least, the groundwork is set over time for agreements in substance.

He did emphasize no rush, in his view, to get there. We should note, is the president dismissing North Korea's short-range missile tests, which it has restarted, saying he was only talking about long-range missiles.

Did he give North Korea leeway there, an opening to continue such tests?

While they don't threaten the homeland of the U.S., they do threaten multiple U.S. military positions out there, including U.S. soldiers, 28,500 based here in South Korea. We were at the DMZ here, close to the North Korean border.

Joseph Yun, still with.

Joseph, you and I were talking about the talks going back to Singapore, Hanoi and now here. The ultimate outcome, agreement to open up the working level talks.

The significance of that in your view?

JOSEPH YUN, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Jim, if you remember, in Singapore, there was a signed document that set up a group that was headed by secretary of state Pompeo.

It's a bit of do it all over again if that's the only outcome there is. Obviously talking is better than not talking. But I would hope they would add in some flexibility. Remember Stephen Biegun, the U.S. Representative for the talks, had been trying to talk with North Koreans for a while.

After Hanoi, there were a lot of reports that Kim Jong-un was so upset by his team that they were punished, sent to the education camp, et cetera. We don't yet know who is going to be secretary of state Pompeo's counterpart nor Stephen Biegun's counterpart.

But let's hope these talks get moving and make some progress so when they meet for the real summit, that we have a document that makes progress on denuclearization as well as other issues.

SCIUTTO: You mentioned the word denuclearization. That's not a word I heard the president mention once in any of the meetings. He did criticize press coverage of this and other negotiations, repeatedly. He did not mention denuclearization, which, at the start of the talks, was what we heard repeatedly from Trump administration officials.

Particularly that phrase, complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization.

Why is the president not using that word?

Is he lowering expectations, focusing on more achievable gains and concessions?

YUN: Well, I think he's beginning to understand that denuclearization is going to be a long, long-term struggle that probably is not possible certainly in his first term or if he wins, even with his second term. This is why he keeps on saying we have all the time. There's no hurry.

And so he is shifting. I think he's shifting his goal, lowering the bar. Let's face it. Even North Koreans have not said they would completely denuclearize. Their idea of denuclearization is we would move toward the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

[04:15:00]

YUN: So we're not getting there very, very quickly at all.

SCIUTTO: It's interesting, that end result, that the Trump administration has accepted, North Korea as a nuclear state. If it's comfortable under long, drawn-out conditions that under which North Korea has not taken any steps to curtail its nuclear program.

Is that the result of the Trump administration's North Korea policy?

We'll be watching. Ambassador Yun, good to have you.

Stay with us. We'll be back on our coverage of President Trump's visit to the demilitarized zone and his meeting with the North Korean leader. We'll be back after this break.

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SCIUTTO: Welcome back. I'm Jim Sciutto at the demilitarized zone, at the border between North and South Korea. Moments ago, Donald Trump and the North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-un, finishing a 50-minute bilateral discussion in private, the president emerging from --

[04:20:00]

SCIUTTO: -- that discussion, escorting the North Korean leader back across the border. Then came back, made comments, called the meetings positive. Said they have agreed to restart working level negotiations. But said, time is not of the essence. He will take his time with these negotiations.

Jim Acosta, chief White House correspondent, covering these talks, previous summits that I have.

I found it notable that one word the president did not say in any of his comments to the press over the last couple of hours is the word denuclearization. When we started the negotiations between the U.S. and North Korea, the administration spoke principally about complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization.

That was the goal and the requirement. The president didn't mention that. We're back to talks perhaps for the sake of talks.

Has the president defined down the goal of negotiations now?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: There was no breakthrough. Just the bromance that continues between President Trump and Kim Jong-un. That was the outcome of that meeting at the DMZ. You heard the president say and you just mentioned this a few moments ago, they're going to announce in the coming weeks, the members who were going to make up, essentially, both sides, who will continue these talks.

I think what we saw today was the president trying to reconstruct what broke down in Hanoi, when the talks fell apart, at the last summit with Kim Jong-un. I think moving forward, we're going to see them try to put the pieces back together again, to get the talks up and running one more time.

But it doesn't sound like they made any progress on any of the sticking points in terms of denuclearizing North Korea. You were making a point of this all day long, Jim. The president was going after the news media, berating the news media for its coverage of how things have been going between the president and Kim Jong-un. He clearly wants more credit and I think what he is trying to do is

manage the coverage. He wants just the presence of these talks, the fact he is meeting with Kim Jong-un, to count as substance and progress. As we know, watching this president for some time and watching the president interact with Kim Jong-un on three different occasions, he governs by spectacle.

He hopes that these spectacles will ultimately result in some sort of leverage of who he is negotiating with at the other end. In this instance, it's Kim Jong-un. The question is whether or not Kim Jong- un wants to do something of substance. Or if he will just enjoy having the United States put him on the same level as the president.

I think that's the ultimate question for this president moving forward. Jim, one of the interesting things that came out of all of this, is he did invite Kim Jong-un to come to the White House.

If you thought seeing the president step into North Korea, I can't imagine seeing Kim Jong-un in the East Room of the White House. That would be a spectacle that would exceed what we saw earlier today.

But it's going to boil down to whether Trump will get Kim Jong-un across the ultimate finish line, not that dividing line between North and South Korea but the dividing line between denuclearization and where things are now, which is Kim Jong-un is a menace to the world.

One final thing that the president extended the opportunity for. I talked to a source on the ground, on the scene, the source said it's way too early to be talking about that. So no timetable when that might ultimately take place, Jim.

SCIUTTO: This is a president who is committed to the meeting, if not the concession. You can imagine, if the president wants that meeting, he generated one with a tweet 24 hours ago. So we should leave open the possibility he can force a White House visit through as well.

You mentioned a short time ago, there was a difficult encounter between the new White House press secretary and North Korean members of security detail, we have pictures of that now, really a scuffle.

Can you describe the circumstances and what exactly happened here?

ACOSTA: Wow, you can see it, in that video, where she shoves aside one of the North Korean officials to get members into the press into this meeting. It was described to me as an all-out brawl at one point and it sounds as --

[04:25:00]

ACOSTA: -- though they were scuffling to get the press in there. You saw where some of the pool cameras were out of position and were not able to get the footage here. I can tell you, Jim --

SCIUTTO: We lost Jim Acosta. But he was describing these pictures we are showing here. This is a scuffle between members of the U.S. press pool, covering the U.S. president as they do, and North Korean aides and members of the security detail.

You can see the White House press secretary, collateral damage, she tried to confront them to get the White House press pool in there, run over, as it were, by North Korean aides, bruised a bit as well.

It's a reminder that North Korea is not a free country. The North Korean leader is a dictator. He leads a country that kills its own people and imprisons its own people. It is not comfortable certainly with the free press, as travels with the U.S. president, that's Kim Jong-un.

That was a small reminder of the leader he is and the regime he runs. We are hearing before we go to break, sounds of a helicopter. Not clear yet. This may be the president leaving the DMZ. When we come back, we'll give you details.

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SCIUTTO: Welcome back. We are live at the DMZ, the border between North and South Korea. And moments ago, we saw the president, his helicopter, Marine One, and its escort, flying back south. They have left the DMZ. This unprecedented meeting between the U.S. president and the North Korean leader, which included as well the briefest of visits --

[04:30:00]

SCIUTTO: -- into North Korea, by President Trump. Crossing the border at the invitation of Kim Jong-un, staying there a couple of moments before coming back. He and Kim had a 50-minute bilateral meeting.

The president speaking alongside the South Korean president, Moon Jae- in, saying the end result of the long discussion, was an agreement to restart negotiations between North Korea and the U.S. Listen to President Trump a short time ago.

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TRUMP: Thank you very much. We just had a very, very good meeting with Chairman Kim and we've agreed that we're each going to designate a team. And the team will try and work out some details.

And, again, speed is not the object. We want to see if we can do a really comprehensive, good deal.

Nobody knows how things turn out. But certainly, this was a great day. This was a very legendary, very historic day. It was quick notice, nobody saw this coming. And it was great that he was able to react so quickly and that we all were able to react so quickly.

But in speaking with President Moon, oftentimes he was saying this is historic, just the meeting is historic. And I think there's something to that. It will be even more historic if something comes of it, something very important.

But a lot has already come up because you see what's going on. You see what's happening and you see the level of relationship as opposed to the way it was when I came into office.

When I came into office, it was a fiery mess. It was -- bad things were going on. And the end of the other administration, the last administration, was nothing but trouble. You saw what was happening. I mean, you don't report it accurately but that's OK. Someday history will record it accurately.

I can just say that, for two and a half years, we've had peace for two and a half years, with nothing signed. It was just based on relationship. But President Moon was saying very strongly that he said he would have never believed that a thing could go on like this, so friendly, so peacefully, for so long.

So we've agreed to have teams set up. We're going to have -- the United States will have a team, Secretary of State Pompeo will pick it. We already know the gentleman.

Good luck, Steve.

STEPHEN BIEGUN, U.S. SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR NORTH KOREA: Thank you, sir.

TRUMP: And you all know Steve. He's a pro. And a good man. And he likes both countries very much. So Steve's going to head it up.

And under the auspices of our great secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, and what's going to happen is over the next two or three weeks, the teams are going to start working to see whether or not they can do something. Very big stuff, pretty complicated but not as complicated as people think.

A lot of our great triumphs have been based on relationship and this is one, where I mean, it's just been a different story. You saw when they were showing us around, when they were showing President Moon and myself around, and they were talking about two and a half, three years ago, it was really dangerous out there.

You couldn't move. People were being killed. A lot of bad things were happening and they said, since Singapore, it's been a whole different ball game. And I was telling, I was telling Chairman Kim that, actually, to me, Hanoi was a great success. The press reported it the opposite.

But you need that and you sometimes need things like that to happen. But it was a great success, because we maintained our relationship. So we're going to have teams. They're going to meet over the next few weeks and they're going to start a process and we'll see what happens.

SCIUTTO: Well, the president seeming to define success now as meetings. That the meetings are happening, the meeting today and they agreed to meet again. Denuclearization, not a word he mentioned in his many appearances with the press at the DMZ.

We're hearing now the helicopters leaving the DMZ. The president's helicopter carrying the press and his family as well as the South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, South. The leaders have now left the demilitarized zone, the end of this unprecedented moment we've witnessed in these last couple of hours here at the DMZ.

My colleague, Anna Coren, has been following events from Seoul.

Anna, much to digest here and it appears that the talks at least are back on track.

ANNA COREN, CNN ANCHOR: Jim, I would say that is probably the most encouraging sign of what has come out today. Yes, Trump and Kim meeting is historic. But the fact there's teams from the United States and North Korea, meeting over the coming weeks, is something substantial. Something concrete. Something --

[04:35:00]

COREN: -- tangible, that gives a sense that momentum is underway. Talks will resume for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Joining me to discuss this and so much more is Duyeon Kim. She an adjunct senior fellow with Center for a New American Security. It is a U.S. think tank.

The fact there's going to be two sides talking, not just Kim and Trump. That's encouraging in your mind?

DUYEON KIM, CENTER FOR A NEW AMERICAN SECURITY: Yes. That's the most meaningful part of today's drama, really. Because the two sides have not been talking. You have to put in the legwork before the third summit.

The key is, what will they talk about?

What's important is I hope that Trump suggested to Kim, to give his lead negotiator the room to actually negotiate. What we saw before, the Hanoi summit, was that the North Korea negotiator was not able to comment at all on the nuclear issue.

He said, that is for Chairman Kim to discuss. So they agreed on everything, except for the nuclear issue. So now Kim Jong-un has to get the negotiator guidance or we're look to square one.

COREN: We heard from Trump just then, said he's handing it over to Stephen Biegun, the U.S. special envoy to North Korea. This is a man who has been in the region trying to talk to the North Koreans.

Do they respect him?

D. KIM: Steve is a great guy. He's smart, he's sharp. He knows what to do. What we've seen so far, unfortunately, that North Korea wants to always bypass him and go straight to President Trump. It's a good sign that President Trump named him publicly just now. I hope saying his name will empower him to a certain extent. That's

crucial for any negotiator walking in, to negotiate with North Korea.

COREN: As you said, Stephen Biegun would be operating under Mike Pompeo.

So who's running the show, Biegun or Pompeo?

D. KIM: That remains to be seen. Clearly the lead negotiator sounds to be Stephen Biegun going forward. What's important is -- I would suggest that the two sides try to come to a comprehensive agreement on denuclearization and (INAUDIBLE). What is the end state.

But that can be a very large process. So in the meantime, it's also important that they try to strike small deals, many deals, to get the process going.

COREN: Tell us about some of the things they need to get going?

Where do these talks begin?

D. KIM: If Hanoi was any sign, the North is not willing to accept anything less than the complete lifting of key U.N. sanctions. But this is where the North, in America's point of view, will have to be more flexible, accepting something less like one-time or hidebound (ph) sanctions and waivers if sanctions (INAUDIBLE).

Can they step back or else (INAUDIBLE) are hard if not difficult to get back because you have to vote for them in a military council.

COREN: We should note to our viewers that the truck that just passed, it's a nationalistic anthem. This is something that happens in Seoul on weekends.

The United States said from the get-go that they're not going to lift any sanctions unless they go to denuclearization. We saw in Vietnam, they were offering up Yongbyon but that wasn't enough.

D. KIM: Because North Korea's asking price was too high. I can see a scenario, a plausible scenario, in which Washington might be willing to give some exemptions and waivers on humanitarian issues, on sanctions that are in place for humanitarian sectors.

But the key economic sanctions, I can expect Washington wanting to lift them after substantial denuclearization has been made first. North Korea has blurred the lines where the economic development is in place.

COREN: The images that we're seeing, have been quite incredible, historic, as we noted, symbolic.

What does it mean to people here, in South and North Korea? Tell us about the symbolism, attached to that.

D. KIM: The symbol is very important. (INAUDIBLE) They show images of what could be possible in the future, so normalization of relations of peace. And it shows this is their way of trying to create a positive mood and --

[04:40:00]

D. KIM: -- build relationships.

COREN: Aspirational images.

D. KIM: Aspirational. To foreshadow what could be possible. Now whether it is possible, is a completely different story.

COREN: Duyeon Kim, always great to get your analysis and insight. We really do thank you.

As you have it, that is really the end. It concludes the end of a historic day on the DMZ. We know that President Trump is planning to fly to Seoul and will meet troops before he flies out on Air Force One.

Everything has been pushed back because of that meeting on the DMZ. Osan Air Force Base are expecting Donald Trump to arrive soon. Soldiers waiting to greet their president.

Certainly, this has been a historic day. As we have discussed throughout the day, we need to see something concrete, when those two teams meet to map out a plan. Stay with CNN. More after the break.

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GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): We continue following the breaking news here this day. History in the making. The U.S. president, Donald Trump, stepping across the border into North Korea, at the invitation of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un. This the moment the world was watching. Mr. Trump wrapped up a private set of talks with the North Korean leader at the Korean demilitarized zone. The president --

[04:45:00]

HOWELL: -- saying the two leaders agreed to start talking after the nuclear negotiations had stalled.

The moment that the world watched, Mr. Trump making history there, crossing the border into North Korea, becoming the first U.S. president to do so.

Mr. Trump also taking time to speak with troops there at the DMZ. Those troops that keep watch and security for South Korea. The South Korean president looking at this as a positive step toward talks continuing. Mr. Trump indicating that he is open to seeing Kim Jong- un an invitation to the White House. The timing of that, still uncertain. But again, you're looking at history in the making. If you're waking

up here on the U.S. East Coast, let's take a look at live pictures right now, if we have them, that are playing out there. We're watching all of the events that are happening.

The president set to arrive shortly, meeting with troops. Let's get more on this with Joseph Yun.

Joseph, of course, we're watching this happen. Many people say it's interesting to see the optics and it's historic.

What are the concrete steps that will take place to make sure that denuclearization happens?

YUN: Yes. I think you're quite right to ask that question. And it was historic, the fact that the two met in addition to President Moon and the DMZ, very symbolic.

Actually people thought it would only be a handshake, quick meeting. But they ended up talking for 45 minutes or so. During that time, they talked about how to start again in the engagement process. I think that's a good sign.

We must remember, being there before, in Singapore, they had agreed to talks. They had signed a document that stated that secretary of state Pompeo would lead the U.S. side.

In order for this to be meaningful, there has to be something to show for it. The working level group is a good idea. We have something to work with. That is there was a package in Hanoi. So that's a starting point. Now both sides have to show some flexibility.

On the North Korean side, they have to give more than Yongbyon. They have to give (INAUDIBLE). And on the American side, well, they have to show some flexibility on sanctions. In Hanoi, they wanted comprehensive relief on sanctions. Maybe they are given smaller sanctions. So that can be the beginning of what I would call an interim agreement.

And you could even include things like opening diplomatic liaison office, which would be the first step towards diplomatic recognition normalization. Perhaps an even on end of war declaration. Remember, the Korean War never ended with a peace treaty. It ended with a cease-fire arrangement. So technically they are still at war.

So all those things, I believe the working group can make some progress. If they do, then this historic meeting will mean something.

HOWELL: The working groups, certainly now in play. The leaders of these two countries to come back for this bilateral meeting.

We want to bring our viewers back to the live images we're watching right now at the DMZ. Awaiting the U.S. president that is set to meet with the troops again, after this historic moment, that's taking place at the Osan Air Base. The historic moment, President Trump meeting with Kim Jong-un. We'll be right back after this break. (MUSIC PLAYING)

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[04:50:00]

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COREN: Welcome back. I'm Anna Coren live from Seoul.

We saw the first sitting U.S. president walk to North Korea and met with the North Korean leader at the DMZ. Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un met at the DMZ. They held talks for 50 minutes in the bilateral meeting, coming out saying, both sides will continue talks in the coming weeks.

We are looking very shortly at pictures out of Osan military base, where the troops are waiting for President Trump to greet him. He will be speaking to those troops before taking board Air Force One and flying back to Washington.

To discuss today's events, Paula Hancocks joins us from the DMZ.

Paula, are you encouraged by the fact that both sides will put people in charge to move forward in discussions.

Is this progress?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is certainly a day of firsts. It was the first time that a U.S. president had met the North Korean leader at the DMZ. The first time the U.S. president had met the North Korean leader at the DMZ, stepping over that demarcation line on the North Korean side of the DMZ. We know what Trump said would maybe be a handshake, maybe two minutes, maybe a quick --

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HANCOCKS: -- hello. That certainly ended up being far more, more than 50 minutes they were speaking to each other. A bilateral meetings between the leaders of the U.S. and North Korea.

Certainly this was more than a handshake. Not as far as a summit. What we heard coming out of that meeting, one of the most telling sound bites we heard, was from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un himself.

As he walked out of the building with President Trump, we could hear him saying, the fact that we will be able to meet each other anytime now, I think this is the signal this meeting will send.

As far as the North Korean leader is concerned, that's the headline, the fact they can meet each other at any time. There will be negotiating teams set up on both sides. That had been in place after Singapore and Hanoi but clearly, they're now putting extra impetus, it appears, on making sure these talks restart.

COREN: We heard from president Donald Trump, giving an invitation for Kim Jong-un to visit the White House, something quite extraordinary, considering there hasn't been any progress on the denuclearization talks.

We're still looking at live pictures of Osan air base, where the U.S. president is due to address troops. Stay with CNN. "NEW DAY" will continue our coverage of this very historic day.

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