North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said he’s willing to discuss the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, a Trump administration official familiar with the policy told NBC News on Sunday.
The news comes after Kim Jong Un went on an unofficial visit recently to Beijing, where he met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. If accurate, the move would effectively pave the way for a high level summit between Kim and President Donald Trump.
It was reported late last month that China said it had won a pledge from Kim Jong Un to denuclearize the Korean peninsula, where Xi Jinping pledged in return that China would uphold its friendship with its isolated neighbor.
Tensions between North Korea and the U.S. have been growing throughout the past few months. Trump has expressed a willingness to meet with the North Korean leader, and recently said Kim would “do what’s right” and get rid of any nuclear weapons.
“For years and through many administrations, everyone said that peace and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula was not even a small possibility. Now there is a good chance Kim Jong Un will do what is right for his people and for humanity,” Trump wrote on Twitter last month.
The president still plans to meet with Kim Jong Un by the end of May, according to the White House. The two are expected to talk about lifting sanctions.
