President Donald Trump said Tuesday that South Korea and North Korea had his "blessing" to end their decades-long conflict when the nation's leaders meet later this month.
North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un plans to formally announce a willingness to denuclearize when he meets with South Korean President Moon Jae In, according to a South Korean spokesman.
Trump discussed the developments alongside Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with reporters at Mar-a-Lago.
"North Korea is coming along," he said. "South Korea is meeting and has plans to meet with North Korea to see if they can end the war, and they have my blessing on that, and they've been very generous, that without us, and without me in particular, I guess ... they wouldn't be discussing anything."
He said the Winter Olympics in South Korea and North Korea's participation in it were a great success. Trump also said many people don't realize the Korean War is still technically ongoing; the North and South signed an armistice in 1953 after three years of fighting but didn't sign a peace treaty.
"It's going on right now, and they are discussing an end to the war. Subject to a deal, they would certainly have my blessing, and they do have my blessing to discuss that," Trump said.
Trump said the U.S. and Japan were "very unified" on North Korea. He told reporters the planned summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un could happen in early June, although he cautioned it could still be cancelled.
"It's possible things won't go well, and we won't have the meetings, and we'll just continue to go along this very strong path that we've taken," Trump said.