Kim Jong-un JOKES about ‘Rocket Man’ image while sharing local spirits with South Korea

During the meeting, Kim committed to handing over his nuclear arsenal and told South Korea officials he would like to meet US President Donald Trump.

A dream that, yesterday, became Pyongyang’s confirmed reality.

Delegation leader Chung Eui-yong spoke to reporters at the White House on Thursday to share his surprising change of heart.

According to one Blue House official, Kim made light-hearted remarks about how he is viewed outside North Korea in international media during the meetings.

The officials who spoke asked to remain unnamed due to the sensitivity of the issue.

Kim, repeatedly mocked as “Little Rocket Man” by Trump, was apparently “very aware” of his image and reacted to comments made about him in a “relaxed” manner by joking about himself from time to time.

Their May meeting is now expected to be the first meeting between a sitting US President and a North Korean leader.

Tensions rose to their all-time highest in 2017 following a battery of missile tests by North Korea.

A detente led by South Korean President Moon Jae-In during his country’s hosting of the Winter Olympics followed shortly after.

The Trump administration has warned all options – military and otherwise – are on the table to deal with Pyongyang, which has pursued its weapons programmes in defiance of strong UN sanctions.

When the South Korean officials visited, Kim Jong-un was the first to tackle sensitive topics, including the resumption of a military exercise between South Korea and the United States.

One participant of the visit said: “This is when we knew the efforts of North and South Korea taken after the Moon Jae-in administration began had paid off.”

Jong-un’s administration had also taken note of what North Korean foods the South Korean officials had mentioned while his sister Kim Yo Jong was visiting Seoul for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

The delegation was served North Korean hotpot on day one and cold noodles – another regional specialty – day two.

Kim and the officials are said to have shared several bottles of wine, liquor made of ginseng and Pyongyang soju.

The official said the South Korean visitors to Pyongyang did not come into contact with the one-on-one trackers that typically follow visitors in the North.

They were also free to move about on the premises of the hotel.

A second source mentioned that Jong-un and his wife, Ri Sol Ju, appeared “equal”.

They said: “They seemed to be quite close to one another and he didn’t seem like one of your conservative husbands.”