Trump, one again, again narrows location for summit site

On April 26, US President Trump said it was five different locations.

On April 27, he said it was down to "two or three''.

And on Monday, one: The Demilitarized Zone. Maybe.

"Numerous countries are being considered for the MEETING," Trump tweeted on Monday morning, "but would Peace House/Freedom House, on the Border of North & South Korea, be a more Representative, Important and Lasting site than a third-party country? Just asking!"

If that becomes the site for Trump's summit with DPRK's top leader Kim Jong-un, then he will be following the example set by last week's historic meeting of Kim with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

Peace House is a building on the South Korean side of the Joint Security Area, which is often referred to as Panmunjom after the nearby village where the 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement was signed.

It was there on April 27 that Kim and Moon agreed to pursue a permanent peace treaty and the complete denuclearization of their divided peninsula.

Asked late on Monday by CBS News if the Demilitarized Zone could be a possible option to host the US-DPRK talks, Trump said it was a location he thought was "intriguing".

"Some people don't like the look of that, some people like that very much," said Trump, according to the CBS News report.

"There's something I like about it because you're there, you're actually there where if things work out there's a great celebration to be had on the site not in a third-party country," Trump said.

As usual, Trump also said the summit might not happen.

"Personally, I think it's going to be a success," he said. "If it's not a success, I will respectfully leave."

Location has been one of the biggest logistical problems as the White House and Pyongyang prepare for the summit that is expected in either May or early June.

There has been speculation that Sweden, Mongolia or Pyongyang are potential choices for the summit.

The thinning number of possible meeting venues mentioned by Trump over last week indicate both sides are working on a final list.

For example, Trump said on April 26 that "five locations" were in the running, and "three or four dates". He had said earlier that all the five sites were outside the US.

He then narrowed the number of possible sites to only "two or three".

"The meeting location will be the result of compromise, carefully chosen so as not to provide propaganda fodder for either side," Miha Hribernik, senior Asia analyst at global risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft, told CNBC in an interview.

"The end result will likely be a venue in a third country without a direct security stake on the Korean Peninsula," Hribernik said.

Contact with the writer at huanxinzhao@chinadailyusa.com