U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged to work toward the "complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula" at the end of a historic meeting of the two leaders in Singapore, but specific details on such a process, including a timetable, were scant.
Kim reaffirmed North Korea's commitment — agreed upon with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on April 27 — to work toward denuclearizing the peninsula, according to a joint statement signed by Trump and the North Korean leader. The U.S. also committed to provide security guarantees to North Korea as part of plans to establish new relations between the two countries.
"The United States and the DPRK commit to hold follow-on negotiations, led by the U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, and a relevant high-level DPRK official, at the earliest possible date, to implement the outcomes of the US-DPRK summit," the statement said. DPRK refers to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the official name of North Korea.
Pompeo had said before the summit that the "complete and verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean peninsula is the only outcome" that the U.S. would accept from diplomacy efforts with North Korea. Trump told reporters hours after the summit ended that the denuclearization will be verified by a combination of U.S. and foreign inspectors.
Current sanctions on North Korea will remain, Trump also said after the summit. The U.S. will also not reduce military capabilities in South Korea, but joint military exercises by the two countries will be stopped.
"President Trump's historic meeting with Kim Jong Un is a welcome step towards peace on the Korean peninsula and, hopefully, reduces one of the market's major geopolitical risks," said Chris Turner, head of foreign exchange strategy at ING Research.
South Korea's Kospi Index was down 0.05% at market close at 2:30 a.m. ET.
