WASHINGTON, April 27 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said that the location options of his meeting with top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un has been reduced to two or three sites, and the United States will set up the meeting "very shortly."
Speaking before his meeting with visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Trump said a "lot of very positive things happened over the last 24 hours," referring to the just-concluded meeting between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
"We're in total touch with both North Korea (DPRK) and South Korea. We'll be setting up a meeting very shortly," he said. "We have it broken down to probably two sites now, two or three sites, locations."
Trump said that "hopefully we're going to have great success, we'll see what happens," referring to his meeting with Kim.
"The relationships are building and building strongly," he noted. "This will be a great thing for the world."
He added that he did not think Kim was "playing" the United States.
"I don't think he's playing. And... it's never gone this far," he said. "I don't think it's ever had this enthusiasm for somebody -- for them wanting to make a deal."
"We're not going to be played," he said. "This isn't like past administrations, we don't play games."
"We will, I think, come up with a solution. And if we don't, we leave the room with great respect. We leave the room and we just keep it going," he added.
Earlier on Friday, Trump said while meeting with the U.S. Olympic team that he hopes all the Korean people could live in peace.
"On the occasion of this week's meeting between President Moon and Kim Jong Un, I want to express my hope that all of the people of Korea -- North Korea (DPRK) and South -- can someday live in harmony, prosperity, and peace. And it looks like it could happen," he said.
He also hoped that "the day will come when Olympic athletes can compete on a Korean Peninsula that is free of nuclear weapons, and where all Koreans can live together and can share their dreams."
"It would be a wonderful thing to do," he said.
On Friday morning, Trump tweeted that the Kim-Moon meeting is "historic."
"After a furious year of missile launches and Nuclear testing, a historic meeting between North and South Korea is now taking place," Trump tweeted.
Speaking of the inter-Korean announcement to transfer the armistice treaty into a peace agreement, Trump said that the United States and all of its people should be very proud of what is now happening on the Korean Peninsula.
He also thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping for the progress, saying that "without him it would have been a much longer, tougher, process!"
He added that "good things are happening, but only time will tell!"
Mike Pompeo, who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the new secretary of state on Thursday, met with Kim earlier this month. The meeting was confirmed by Trump on April 18 who tweeted that it "went very smoothly and a good relationship was formed."
Pompeo's trip aimed to lay the groundwork for direct talks between Trump and Kim, which are expected to take place in May or early June.
