HE DON IT
What happened at Trump and Kim Jong-un’s third meeting in North Korea?
DONALD Trump and Kim Jong-un met for the third time on June 30, 2019 - but this was one of the most historic meetings between the pair.
We explain why the meeting was held and what happened. Here is what we know.
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How did Trump reach out to Kim?
Trump made a very last-minute request to sit down for talks with the North Korean leader.
The 45th US President had already met with the South Korean leader on Saturday, June 29, in Seoul after a series of high-profile meetings at the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan.
Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in had “toasted” to their new trade deal after dinner when it was announced they would go to the Korean Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) to speak to US troops.
While still in Japan, Trump had approached Kim via Twitter in an attempt to set up a meeting.
"I will be leaving Japan for South Korea (with President Moon),” Trump tweeted.
“While there, if Chairman Kim of North Korea sees this, I would meet him at the Border/DMZ just to shake his hand and say Hello(?)!"
Kim accepted the invitation.
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Why was Trump wanting to meet Kim?
The president has been trying to restart nuclear talks with the North after they broke down during his second summit with Kim earlier this year in Vietnam.
The summit collapsed without an agreed deal for denuclearising the Korean Peninsula.
Washington has said it will only relax crippling economic sanctions against the country if North Korea gives up its nukes and long-range missiles.
But North Korea has said it will only scrap its nuclear weapons after sanctions are lifted entirely.
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Where did they meet?
It was the president's first time going to the heavily fortified border between North and South Korea.
His last attempted trip in 2017 was thwarted by bad weather.
He was photographed getting his first glimpse of North Korea as he stood atop Observation Post Ouellette.
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What happened when the pair met?
Trump made history by becoming the first US President to step foot in North Korea.
Kim said he was "proud" he did it.
The moment was filmed and photographed as Trump approached the concrete barrier at about 3.45pm local time.
Trump and Kim then shook hands in show of mutual respect.
After briefly speaking with reporters, they sat down inside the pastel blue Freedom House at the DMZ for what was to be a brief meeting.
North Korean camera crew appeared to clash with American pool photographers as they told the crews to "get out of the way" and stay out of shots.
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What did Trump say about Kim?
Trump hailed Kim and the "friendship" the pair have while speaking to reporters outside.
He said: "I just want to say this is my honour. Stepping across that line is a great honour, great progress has been made, great friendships have been made and this has been, in particular, a great friendship."
Trump also thanked Kim for being able to meet on short notice.
He said: "We met and we liked each other from day one, and that is very important."
He also invited the North Korean leader to the US for a visit and added "history has been made".
Trump said: “I would invite him right now.
"When I became president of the US, there was great great conflict, now there is less conflict.
“It’s my great honour and the Chairman’s honour.”
While in the Freedom House, Trump thanked Kim again for meeting in front of international TV cameras.
He said: "I want to thank you, chairman. You hear the power of that voice. Nobody’s heard that voice before. He doesn’t do few news conferences, in case you haven’t heard.
"When I put out the social media notification, if he didn’t show up the press was going to make me look very bad."
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What did Kim say?
Kim said it was good to see Trump again and hailed the 45th President as courageous for crossing into North Korea.
Outside, he confirmed he was asked to meet Trump and said he wanted to meet again.
He told reporters: "I believe that meeting here, which is a symbol of division and a hostile past, I think meeting here, two countries that have a hostile past, we are showcasing to the world that we have a new present and we have a positive meeting going forward.
"The great relationship between President Trump and I, I don’t think if we didn’t have such a great relationship we could have organised this meeting in just a day.
"I would like to use this strong relationship to create more good news that nobody expects."
While in the Freedom House, Kim spoke optimistically about his relationship with Trump
He said: "President Trump and myself, we have an excellent relationship with each other.
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"If it wasn’t for that good relationship, it would not have been able to make this meeting possible."
He said he hoped it could be "the foundation for better things in the future that people will be not expecting.
"This will be a very mysterious force that allows us to overcome many difficulties that existed in the past."
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