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North Korea summit outcome 'regrettable' but progress made: Seoul

Agencies
Seoul, South KoreaUpdated: Feb 28, 2019, 03:40 PM IST
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File photo: North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (L), US President Donald Trump (R). Photograph:(Zee News Network)

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'It is regrettable President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un did not reach a complete agreement on today's summit,' Blue House spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said in a statement.

South Korea's presidential office expressed regret after the summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong Un ended without a deal but said "meaningful progress" had been made.

"It is regrettable President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un did not reach a complete agreement on today's summit," Blue House spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said in a statement.

"But it appears clear that more meaningful progress was made than at any other point in the past."

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had failed to reach an agreement due to North Korean demands to lift punishing US-led sanctions.

Earlier, both Trump and Kim had expressed hope for progress on improving relations and on the key issue of denuclearisation, in their talks in the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi, their second summit in eight months.

Both leaders left the venue of their talks, the French-colonial-era Metropole hotel, without attending a planned lunch together, and returned to their hotels.

Failure to reach an agreement marks a setback for Trump, a self-styled dealmaker under pressure at home over his ties to Russia and testimony from Michael Cohen, his former personal lawyer, accusing him of breaking the law while in office.