'We're prepared to start a new history, and we're ready to write a new chapter between our two nations,' he told a packed room of reporters at a press conference in Singapore.
Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program will come to an end, he predicted, claiming that Kim had already left Singapore and was 'on his way back' to North Korea to begin implementing their joint vows.
'I believe he's going to live up to that document,' Trump said after a day that included nearly 5 hours of face time with Kim. 'Our eyes are wide open, but peace is always worth the effort, especially in this case.'
'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,' Trump said, tweaking the Obama administration.
The U.S. president told reporters that he became convinced that Kim was serious when he agreed to dismantle a sophisticated missile engine testing site. 'We're much further along than I would have thought.'
At the same time, he agreed that there are no guarantees that Kim will tear apart what he called 'a very substantial arsenal.'
'Can you ensure anything?' he asked. 'All I can say is: They want to make a deal. ... Can anybody be certain? But we're going to be certain soon because the negotiations continue.'
'I may be wrong,' he allowed. 'I may stand before you in six months and say, "Hey, I was wrong." '
And then with a sly smile, Trump joked: 'I don't know that I'll ever admit that, but I'll find some kind of an excuse.'
The president said he had been working around the clock helping to cement the terms of what he hopes will be an iron-clad agreement that Kim will honor. That would mark a change from North Korea's past performance on pacts with the West.
'I haven't slept in 25 hours, but I thought it was important to do,' he said, animated as ever in gesture and vocal cadence.'
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