Singapore, June 12 (RHC)-- U.S. President Donald Trump considered his meeting with the leader of the People's Democratic Republic of Korea, Kim Jong-un, as 'honest, direct and productive'.

The historic summit was held Tuesday at the Capella hotel on Sentosa island in Singapore, after bilateral tensions and mutual threats of cancellation.

In a press conference after the signing of the joint document, Trump said: 'We are ready to start a new history and write a new chapter among our nations".

In the joint declaration the two countries agreed to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula while Washington committed to provide security guarantees for DPRK.

Trump said he expected the denuclearization process to start “very, very quickly”. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and North Korean officials would hold follow-up negotiations “at the earliest possible date”.

Trump told the news conference that the process would be verified, and that the verification “will involve having a lot of people in North Korea”.

He also indicated that his North Korean counterpart accepted an invitation to the White House. Similarly, Trump promised to visit Pyongyang.

Trump said joint military exercises with South Korea would be halted, and that the move would save Washington a tremendous amount of money and would not be revived “unless and until we see the future negotiation is not going along like it should”.

Describing the exercises as “war games,” Trump said that the drills were “very expensive” and required U.S. bombers to “fly in from Guam” – a practice that he described as “provocative.” 

The summit between Trump and Kim has been welcomed with cautious optimism worldwide, with observers describing it as symbolic.

The UN´s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) welcomed the joint statement, and said it was prepared to undertake any verification activities in DPRK.