how do they do that? mike pompeo said it's a unique kind of security agreement. we frankly don't know exactly what that means and how they will provide that security. a couple of months ago we were threatening to annihilate north korea if they dared launch any sort of nuclear weapon or threatened the united states. remember the incident with guam. he was promising missiles would be shot towards guam. and that was probably the most intense period for fears there would be some sort of conflict. >> and martha, we've covered this for years. we know there have been agreements in the past with north korea back during president bill clinton's time. there was an agreement reached in principle. it fell apart not long after when kim jong un's father died a short time after that agreement was signed. in this case when you see those words, and in fact it's in the first paragraph of this letter signed jointly by these two leaders a short time ago here in singapore, saying that chairman kim jong un has reofrmd his firm

and unwavering commitment to complete denuclearization of the korean peninsula. i mean, there isn't much room for an opening there. what secretary of state pompeo has said in the last 24 hours. what president trump said in the weeks leading up to the summit that was canceled and it's back on. but this has always been the grounds for the agreement. >> reason president trump came to this meeting, the reason for this summit is. >> 4:08 in the morning in the east. 12 hours ahead in singapore. i do want to bring in anchor juju chang who's been monitoring these developments all night long in singapore. she's back in our new york studio. juju, i'm curious, we were talking about president moon in south korea and his cabinet watching as the events unnoelded here, smiling with that first handshake, but even he could not have predicted how this would

have unfolded today and i know that the secretary of state now travels to meet with president moon next to fill him in on how this -- they believe will unfold in the coming weeks, months, years to come. >> absolutely, david. we're talking about absolutely astonishing developments that happened so quickly. the speed with which peace broke out on the korean peninsula, full. it has been wildly popular in south korea. enjoying 80% approval ratings in some sectors. but there is still a very deep reservoir of distrust built up over decades of betrayals as you alluded to. they made agreements to denuclearize, agreements before to strike at peace. and we did have a previous south korean president, kim dae-jung win a nobel prize for his

efforts toward peace only to have tem hem unravel. the ironic twist is this south korean president moon jae-in has actually suggested it's donald trump who deserves the nobel prize, which is fascinating to me on? level as a korean-american, as if he's the modern-day general douglas macarthur coming to save korea from tyranny, which is in many ways an astonishing development. >> it is, juju. the president has said himself that he's been long interested in being part of a negotiation that would help take care of the nuclear weapons that still exist in our world. he said he's watched it since the '80s playing out, when ronald reagan was president, and we witnessed something extraordinary today where at least for now we have the blueprint for what could be peace on the korean peninsula. >> absolutely. many people believe that kim jong un came to this summit with an eye toward joining the international community, at least economically.

and this letter, this agreement is his ticket into the club. sanctions may not be on the table and may not have been in the negotiations but that's clearly on the regime's mind. if you look at the economic gaps between north korea and south korea, south korea is now the 11th or 12th largest economy depending on which list you look at. and north korea is 125th. it is in the cellar. and that is not where it was 50 years ago when the war broke out. this is an economic disparity that kim jong un is certainly hoping to change. >> and juju, stick with us here because i know a lot of people watching us back home as this unfolds, we are awaiting the president. he's going to take questions from international reporters. i wanted to get back to juju because for many people, not only back in the u.s. but around the it's also a day of trying to reconcile the person they knew as a brutal dictator, someone who resided over a country with rolling blackouts, with people near starvation, in desperate need of

food in some cases, a leader who killed members of his own family to keep his grip on power, and now just since the beginning of this year the olive branch to the south, president moon taking a north korean delegation to the olympics and this face-to-face meeting now with president trump. this has only been relatively new for kim jong un the diplomat, and it comes after years as a ruthless dictator in north korea. >> absolutely, david. when i was in seoul most recently before the korea olympics, a lot of the defectors from north korea were telling me that this is a regime that is known in the international human rights community as imprisoning in gulags more than 100,000 north koreans, torturing, executing, starving its citizens, and so this is also an issue as jon karl has noted from senior white house officials that is not on the negotiating table this time around. and yet it is very much a concern for people who have been looking at north korea.

>> juju chang, "nightline" anchor, standing by in new york. our thanks to you. i do want to bring in our chief white house correspondent jonathan karl because jon is in the world awaiting the president. he will take questions from the international press gathered in that room. and i know they're playing a video presentation. do a bit of a scene setting here, jon. what is it that they produced? >> reporter: this is quite a production. very slickly produced video. they have played it both in korean and in -- now they're playing it in english. it's a video that basically describes a moment in history where we have an opportunity to go between nuclear war and prosperity for all. it's really quite a slick video presentation. overtones of propaganda but a very slickly produced production. >> jon, i also say that it

illustrates how much plan had tool go actually gone into this summit. in the reporting there were questions about how prepared president trump was, how much studying he was doing. he said i don't have to prepare much. and it was a short time thereafter the white house said he is actually preparing, he's spending several hours a day with secretary of state pompeo. but to see within minutes, 40 minutes or so, coming out of that face-to-face president trump saying we have an excellent relationship, we got along very good in the president's words. and now to see this agreement signed with the template of peace in the korean peninsula. and now what appears to be a very slick video being played, that would show that there was considerable planning that went into this, jon. >> there was a lot of planning. this is extraordinary. you have basically the world press corps here watching this video presentation. as i mentioned, american english, and korean. and we have the secretary of

state. and here comes the president. >> president of the united states, donald trump. [ applause ] >> no doubt very happy with how events transpired in singapore today. his face-to-face meeting with kim jong un making history and being watched all over the world. >> been a tremendous 24 hours, had a tremendous three months, actually, because this has been going on for quite a while. that was a tape that we gave to chairman kim and his people. his representatives, and captures a lot, captures what could be done. that's a great place. has a potential to be an incredible place, between south korea, if you think about it, and china. it's got tremendous potential. and i think he understands that and he wants to do what's right. it's my honor today to address the people of the world, following this very historic summit with chairman kim jong un

of north korea, spent very intensive hours together. and i think most of you have gotten the signed document or you will shortly. it's very comprehensive. it's going to happen. i stand before you as an emissary of the american people to deliver a message of hope and vision and a message of peace. let me begin by thanking our incredible hosts in singapore. especially prime minister li, friend of mine. this is a country of profound grace and beauty, and we send our warmest wishes to every citizen of singapore, who really made this visit so important and so pleasant. in spite of all the long hours and all of the work. i also want to thank president moon of south korea. he's working hard. in fact, i'll be speaking with

him right after we're finished. prime minister abe of japan. friend of mine. just left our country. and he wants what's right for japan and for the world. good man. and a very special person, president xi of china, who has really closed up that border. maybe a little less so over the last couple of months, but that's okay. but he really has. he's a terrific person and a friend of mine and really a great leader of his people. i want to thank them for their efforts to help us get to this very historic day. most importantly, i want to thank chairman kim for taking the first bold step toward a bright new future for his people. our unprecedented meeting, the first between an american president and a leader of north korea proves that real change is

indeed possible. my meeting with chairman kim was honest, direct and productive. we got to know each other well in a very confined period of time, under very strong, strong circumstances. we're prepared to start a new history, and we're ready to write a new chapter between our nations. nearly 70 years ago, think of that. 70 years ago, an extremely bloody conflict ravaged the korean peninsula. countless people died in the conflict, including tens of thousands of brave americans. yet, while the armistice was agree agreed to, the war never ended, to this day never ended, but now we can all have hope that it will soon end, and it will, it will soon end. the past does not have to define the future. yesterday's conflict does not

have to be tomorrow's war. and, as history has proven over and over again, adversaries can indeed become friends. we can honor the sacrifice of our forefathers by replacing the horrors of battle with the blessings of peace. and that's what we're doing, and that's what we have done. there is no limit to what north korea can achieve when it gives up its nuclear weapons and embraces commerce and engagement with the rest of the world that really wants to engage. chairman kim has before him an opportunity like no other. to be remembered as the leader who ushered in a glorious new era of security and prosperity for his people. chairman kim and i just signed a joint statement in which he reaffirmed his unwavering

commitment to complete denuclearization of the korean peninsula. we also agreed to implement the agreement as soon as possible. and he wants to do that. this isn't the past. this isn't another administration that never got it started. and therefore never got it done. chairman kim has told me that north korea's already destroying a major missile engine testing site. that's not in your signed document. we agreed to that after the agreement was signed. that's a big thing. the missiles they were testing, the site is going to be destroyed very soon. today is the beginning of an arduous process. our eyes are wide open. but peace is always worth the effort, especially in this case. this should have been done years ago. this should have been resolved a

long time ago. but we're resolving it now. chairman kim has the chance to seize an incredible future for his people. anyone can make war, but only the most courageous can make peace. the current state of affairs cannot endure forever. the people of korea, north and south, are profoundly talented, industrious people. they share the same language, heritage, customs, culture and destiny. but to realize their amazing destiny. to reunite their national family, the menace of nuclear weapons will now be removed. in the meantime, the sanctions will remain in effect. we dream of a future where all koreans can live together in harmony. where families are reunited and hopes are reborn and where the light of peace chases away the darkness of war.

this bright future is within, and this is what's happening. it is right there. it's within our reach. it's going to be there. it's going to happen. people thought this could never take place. it is now taking place. it's a very great day. it's a very great moment in the history of the world. and chairman kim is on his way back to north korea, and i know for a fact as soon as he arrives, he's going to start a process that's going to make a lot of people very happy and very safe. so it's an honor to be with everybody today. the media, a big gathering of media, i will say. makes me feel very uncomfortable. but it is what it is. people understand that this is something very important to all of us, including yourselves and your families. so thank you very much for being here. we'll take some questions. wow. that's a lot of questions.

sure, go ahead. >> two questions for you, if you don't mind. first, the man you met today, kim jong un, as you know, has killed family members, has starved his own people. is responsible for the death of otto warmbier. why are you so comfortable calling him very talented? >> well, he is very talented. anybody that takes over a situation like he did at 26 years of age and is able to run it and run it tough, i don't say he was nice, or i don't say anything about it. he ran it. very few people at that age, you can take one out of 10,000 probably couldn't do it. otto warmbier is a very special person, and he will be for a long time in my life. his parents are good friends of mine. i think without otto, this would not have happened. something happened from that day. it was a terrible thing. it was brutal. but a lot of people started to

focus on what was going on, including north korea. i really think that otto is someone who did not die in vain. i told this to his parents. a special young man. and i have to say, special parents. special people. otto did not die in vain. he had a lot to do with us being here today. okay? thank you very much. >> the second question for you was on the security. second question on the security assurances you talked about in your statement. can you be specific about what assurances you're willing to give kim jong un, does that include reducing military capabilities? >> no, we're not reducing anything. at some point i have to be honest, and i used to say this during my campaign as you know probably better than most. i want to get our soldiers out. i want to bring our soldiers back home. we have right now 32,000 soldiers in south korea. and i'd like to be able to bring them back home, but that's not part of the equation right now.

at some point i hope it will be but not right now. we will be stopping the war games, which will save us a tremendous amount of money, unless and until we see the future negotiation is not going along like it should. but we'll be saving a tremendous amount of money, plus, i think it's very provocative, yes? go ahead. oh, go ahead. i'm sorry. i thought you were john roberts. i looked at you. much better, right? >> we're frequently confused, mr. president. >> yes. >> mr. president, the joint statement does not talk about verifiable orblt concession on part of the united states? >> no, not at all. if you look at it, it said we going to -- let's see here. it will be gone. i don't think you can be any more plain than what we're asking. issues related to the

establishment of the new u.s./dpkr relations, the building. we talk about the guarantees, and we talk about unwavering commitment to the complete denuclearization of the korean peninsula. this is the document that we just signed. >> did you discuss with chairman kim methods to verify, either with the united states or international organizations that very process -- >> yes, we did. yes, we did. and will be verified. we'll be verifying -- >> how can that be achieved mr. president? >> well, it's going to be achieved by having a lot of people there, and as we develop a certain trust, and we think we have done that. secretary pompeo's been really doing a fantastic job. his staff, everybody. as we do that, we're going to have a lot of people there, and we're going to be working with them on a lot of other things, but this is complete deflurkizatideflur denuclearization and it will be verified. >> will those people be

americans or -- >> combinations of both. and we have talked about it. yes, go ahead. be nice, be respectful. >> i'll be very respectful, sir. what did kim jong un say to you to give you the confidence that, for once, in the history of north korea, they are not cheating the system and gaming the world and gaming the people who will have to go in and make sure that they're actually giving up their nuclear arsenal? >> i mean, very fair question, he actually mentioned the fact that they proceeded down a path in the past and ultimately, as you know, nothing got done. in one case, they took billions of dollars from the clinton regime, took billions of dollars and nothing happened. it was a terrible thing. and he actually brought it up to me. and he said we have never gone this far. i don't think they've ever had the confidence, frankly, in a president that they have right now, for getting things done and

having the act bility to get ths done. and he was very firm in the fact that he wants to do this -- i think he might want to do this as much or even more than me, because they see a very bright future for north korea. so you neovember never know, ri? we signed a very comprehensive document today. and i think most of you have been given that document, but we signed a very comprehensive document, oon i belieand i beli going to live up to that document. and in fact when he lands, which is going to be pretty soon, he's going to start that right away. i have known him for a while, without the rhetoric, it wouldn't have happened. i think without other things going along. i think the establishment of a new team was very important. we have a great team. but i do. i think he wants to get it done. i really feel that very

strongly. you know, you two guys look alike when the light is right on the -- the hair is very similar. who has better layehair? >> it's the angelic glow that makes us look similar. of course the denouuclearizatio and biological weapons is one problem in north korea. the other huge problem is the horrible record they have on human rights. was that discussed at all? is that something you will tackle in the future? >> yes, it was discussed. it will be discussed more in the future. human rights. but what was also discussed in great detail, john, was the fact that we have -- and i must have had just countless calls and letters and anything you can do, they want the remains of their sons back. they want the remains of their fathers and mothers, and all of the people that got caught into that really brutal war.

which took place to a large extent in north korea. and i asked for it today. and the remains will be coming back. they're going to start that process immediately. so many people even during the campaign say is there any way you can work with north korea to get the remains of my son back or my father back. so many people ask me this question. i said we don't get along too well with that particular group of people, but now we do. he agreed to that so quickly and so nice. it was a very nice thing and he understands it. he understands it. so for the thousands and thousands i guess way over 6,000 that we know of in terms of the remains, they'll be brought back. >> the pow, mia issue is clearly important for thousands. >> especially to a lot of people. >> what do you, president trump,

expect kim jong-un to do about the human rights record regarding the north korean people? >> it was discussed. it was discussed relatively briefly compared to denuclearization. obviously that's where we started and where we ended. but they will be doing things. i think he wants to do things. i think you would be very surprised. very smart, very good negotiator. wants to do the right thing. he brought up the fact that in the past they took dialogue, they never were like we are, there's never been anything like what's taken place now, but they went down the line. billions of dollars were given and the following day the nuclear program continued. but this is a much different time, a much different president in all fairness. this is important to me. this is one of the, perhaps one of the reasons i won, i

campaigned on this issue as you know. whoever those people are, i cannot see you with the lights. you don't look like either of the two. go ahead. sure. go ahead. >> thank you, mr. president. first of all, congratulations. >> thank you very much. appreciate it. >> the issue of peace treaty and also wheomen you travel to pyongyang? >> i said at some point i will. i look forward to it at the appropriate time. i will also invite chairman kim at the appropriate time to the white house. i think it's going to be something that will be very important. and he has accepted. i said at the appropriate time. we want to go a little further down the road. what we signed today was a lot of things included. then you have things that weren't included that we got after the deal was signed. i've done that before in my life. we didn't put it in the agreement because we didn't have

time. i think most of you have been handed the agreement or soon will. you have not. if you could have those agreements passed out. we just finished them a little while ago. if you could have the agreements passed out, you'll see what we're talking about. yes, sir, go ahead. >> i will second the congratulations. >> thank you. >> what part did japan play, did the abduction issue come up and fate of the christians and follow-up, when will you do interview with japanese tv. 50,000 troops are in japan. >> that's true. 50,000 great troops. yes, abduction, absolutely. prime minister abe's other than the whole denuking subject, i would say his main point and i brought it up absolutely and they'll be working on that. we didn't put it in the document but it will be worked on.

christians, yes. we brought it up very strongly. franklin graham spent and spends a tremendous time in north korea, close to his heart. it did come up and things will be happening. thank you. great question. yes, john. >> thank you, mr. president. returning to the question of human rights, you spoke very powerfully on the issue during your state of the union address, showed that you have the defector with the crutches who escaped. you said north korea has more brutally oppressed its people than any other regime on earth. do you still believe that is the case having sat down with kim jong-un and does he need to change that. >> john, i believe it is a rough situation over there, there's no question about it. we did discuss it today pretty

strongly, knowing what the main purpose of what we were doing is, denuking. discussed it at pretty good length. we'll be doing something on it. it's rough. it's rough in a lot of places by the way, not just there, but it's rough. we will continue that. i think ultimately we'll agree to something. it was discussed at length outside of the nuclear situation, one of the primary topics. >> zooido you think that needs change to bring on this glorious new era? >> i think it will change, it has to, but it will, yes. thank you very much. steve. >> yes, sir, thank you. what timetable do you envision for the denuclearization and in the meantime, are you thinking about easing any sanctions? >> scientifically i have been watching and reading a lot about this and it does take a long time to pull off complete denuclearization. it takes a long time.

scientifically. you have to wait certain periods of time and a lot of things happen. despite that, once you start the process, it means it is pretty much over, you can't use them. that's the good news. that's going to start very soon. i believe that's going to start very soon. we will do it as fast as it can mechanically and physically be done, steve. >> and sanctions? >> sanctions come off when we are sure that the nukes are no longer a factor. sanctions played a big role, but they'll come off, i hope it will be soon, but as you know, i said the sanctions right now remain. at a certain point, i look forward to taking them off, and they'll come off when we know we're down the road where it is not going to happen, nothing is going to happen. >> thank you. >> yes, go ahead, please. >> thank you, mr. president. >> thank you. >> congratulations on this historic summit. >> thank you very much. congratulations to everybody by

the way. congratulations to everybody. go ahead. >> you signed a document with kim jong-un. it is essentially a piece of paper. yesterday we had a briefing from the secretary of state, mike pompeo, and he said the following. many presidents previously signed off on pieces of paper only to find the north koreans either didn't promise what we thought they had or reneged on those promises. what makes this time different, mr. president. >> well, you have a different administration, a different president, a different secretary of state. you have people that are, you know, it is very important to them and we get it done. the other groups, maybe it wasn't a priority. i don't think they could have done it if it was a priority frankly. i don't think they honestly could have done it even if it was a priority, and it would have been easier back then, for me, it would have been much easier if this were five or ten years ago. i am not just blaming president obama. this goes back for 25 years this

should have happened. i was given a very tough hand. i was given this and given the iran deal and plenty of other problems, but we are doing really well. the iran deal, i have to be honest, i did it because nuclear is number one to me. nuclear is number one. on the iran deal, i think iran is a different country than three or four months ago. i don't think they're looking so much to the mediterranean, i don't think they're looking at syria like they were with total confidence. i don't think they're so confident right now. but i hope with that being said, i hope that at the appropriate time after the sanctions kick in and they are brutal what we have put on iran, i hope they're going to come back and negotiate a real deal because i would love to be able to do that. right now, it is too soon for that. >> mr. president, you talk about establishing diplomatic relations. >> yes.

>> exchanging ambassadors. how long before that happens? >> good question. hopefully soon but we'll have to get things moving first. little early for that. we have to get things moving. yes, go ahead. hi. >> can you clarify when you said you're stopping war games, you're stopping the military exercises with south korea? >> yeah. we've done exercises for a long period of time, working with south korea and we call them war games, i call them war games, and they're tremendously expensive. the amount of money we spend on that is incredible and south korea contributes but not 100% which is certainly a subject that we have to talk to them about also, and it has to do with the military expense and also the trade. so we're doing that. we actually have a new deal with south korea in terms of a trade deal, but we have to talk to them and talk to many countries about trading us fairly. the war games are very

expensive. we pay for a big majority of them. fly in fighters from guam. i said where do the bombers come from, guam, nearby. i said great. nearby. where is nearby. six and a half hours. six and a half hours. that's a long time for big, massive planes to be flying to south korea to practice and then drop bombs all over the place, and go back to guam. i know a lot about airplanes, it's very expensive and i didn't like it. what i did say is, and i think it is very provocative, i have to tell you, jennifer, it is a very provocative situation. when i see that and you have a country right next door, so under the circumstances that we're negotiating, a very comprehensive, complete deal, i think it is inappropriate to have war games. number one, we save money a lot. number two, it really is something that i think they very

much appreciated. >> get something in return though? >> i heard that. some of the people that, i don't know, i don't always want to go against the press, especially not today, this is too important. some of the people were saying the president agreed to meet. he has given up so much. given up nothing. i am here. i haven't slept in 25 hours. i thought it was appropriate to do, we have been negotiating around the clock with them and with us and john and mike and a whole team of very talented people, but we haven't given up anything other than you're right, i agreed to meet. and i think the meeting was every bit as good for the united states as it was for north korea, but i just wrote down some of the things we got. and they, you know, sure, they

got a meeting, but only a person that dislikes donald trump would say that i agreed to make a big commitment. sure, i agreed to take a period of time and come here and meet and that's good, but i think it is great for us as a country and good for them, but what did they do to justify this meeting. secure commitment for complete denuclearization. that's the big thing. they secured the release of three american hostages. they already gave them to us two months ago. these people now living happily back in their homes with their families and it was pretty rough for them, to put it mildly. secured the commitment to recover the remains, including these are of fallen heroes, and they're giving co