(3rd LD) Trump says 'no more nuclear threat' from N. Korea

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SEOUL/SINGAPORE, June 13 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted Wednesday that the world should feel "safer" because North Korea poses no nuclear threat to the world.

"Everybody can feel much safer than the day I took office. There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea. Meeting with Kim Jong Un was an interesting and very positive experience. North Korea has great potential for the future!" he wrote just after he returned to Washington from a historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore on Tuesday.

"Before taking office people were assuming that we were going to War with North Korea. President Obama said that North Korea was our biggest and most dangerous problem. No longer," he added.

Earlier he tweeted several times defending the summit, which critics said lacked specifics and fell short of the U.S. goal of complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization.

"Great progress was made on the denuclearization of North Korea. Hostages are back home, will be getting the remains of our great heroes back to their families, no missiles shot, no research happening, sites closing," Trump tweeted.

"Got along great with Kim Jong-un who wants to see wonderful things for his country. As I said earlier today: Anyone can make war, but only the most courageous can make peace!" he added.

In later postings, Trump thanked Kim for taking a "bold" step toward a "bright future" for his people and said that their Tuesday summit helps the world stay a big step away from potential nuclear catastrophe.

"Our unprecedented meeting -- the first between an American President and a leader of North Korea -- proves that real change is possible," he said.

"The World has taken a big step back from potential Nuclear catastrophe! No more rocket launches, nuclear testing or research! The hostages are back home with their families," he added. "Thank you to Chairman Kim, our day together was historic!"

After the unprecedented summit on the Singaporean resort island of Sentosa, Trump and Kim issued a joint statement in which the North Korean leader reaffirmed his commitment to the "complete denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula.

As part of the agreement, Trump earlier said that the North had agreed to dismantle a missile engine test facility. This comes after the North shut down its only known nuclear test site in Punggye-ri and returned three American citizens detained in the country to the U.S. last month.

However, Kim's commitment to denuclearization drew criticism, as it fell short of specifying what the process would entail.

sshluck@yna.co.kr
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