A group of 18 Republican members of Congress signed their names to a letter formally nominating President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.

The letter was sent by Rep. Luke Messer of Indiana to the chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee on Wednesday and signed on to by 17 other House GOP members, including Reps. Mark Meadows of North Carolina, Matt Gaetz of Florida, Diane Black and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, and Steve King of Iowa to name some.

In the letter, the lawmakers commend Trump for working “tirelessly to apply maximum pressure on North Korea to end its illicit weapons program and bring peace to the region.”

“His Administration successfully united the international community, including China, to impose one of the most international sanctions regimes in history,” which “have been largely credited for bringing North Korea to the negotiating table,” they add.

The members note that North Korea announced on April 20 it would end its nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic testing programs.

Seven days later South Korea President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met and signed the Panmunjom Declaration, stating that “there will be no more war on the Korean Peninsula and thus a new era of peace has begun.”

The two leaders agreed to work to officially end the Korean War, seek to reunify their countries, and begin a process of denuclearizing the Korean peninsula.

The GOP lawmakers also highlighted Moon’s remarks on Monday saying Trump should receive the peace prize for his role in bringing the two sides together.

“President Trump should win the Nobel Peace Prize,” Moon reportedly told a meeting of senior secretaries, according to Reuters. “What we need is only peace.”

At a rally in Michigan on Saturday night, the crowd broke out into chants of “Nobel, Nobel, Nobel!” when Trump was discussing the issue of the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

The president appeared surprised, amused and perhaps even touched by the sentiment.

“That’s very nice, thank you,” he said. “I just want to get the job done.”

Trump was asked about the prospect of receiving the peace prize on Tuesday and responded Moon “was very nice when he suggested it.”

“I want to get peace. That’s the main thing,” he added.

Fox News reported, “An award would likely be controversial among many peace activists, who would point to Trump’s fiery language toward North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un — whom he dubbed “rocket man” and warned was on a “suicide mission for himself” in 2017.”

The news outlet added, “But supporters say that Trump’s tactics were part of a ‘peace through strength’ approach of the kind that proved successful for President Ronald Reagan when he faced down the Soviet Union.”

“The peace through strength approach to national security is delivering results, not just in North Korea,” Messer said. “ISIS is on the run and I think the world is waking up to the fact that there’s a new sheriff in town and the world’s most important leader today is Donald Trump.”

What do you think? Scroll down to comment below.</s>A group of 18 Republican members of Congress signed their names to a letter formally nominating President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.

The letter was sent by Rep. Luke Messer of Indiana to the chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee on Wednesday and signed on to by 17 other House GOP members, including Reps. Mark Meadows of North Carolina, Matt Gaetz of Florida, Diane Black and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, and Steve King of Iowa to name some.

In the letter, the lawmakers commend Trump for working “tirelessly to apply maximum pressure on North Korea to end its illicit weapons program and bring peace to the region.”

“His Administration successfully united the international community, including China, to impose one of the most international sanctions regimes in history,” which “have been largely credited for bringing North Korea to the negotiating table,” they add.

The members note that North Korea announced on April 20 it would end its nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic testing programs.

Seven days later South Korea President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met and signed the Panmunjom Declaration, stating that “there will be no more war on the Korean Peninsula and thus a new era of peace has begun.”

The two leaders agreed to work to officially end the Korean War, seek to reunify their countries, and begin a process of denuclearizing the Korean peninsula.

The GOP lawmakers also highlighted Moon’s remarks on Monday saying Trump should receive the peace prize for his role in bringing the two sides together.

“President Trump should win the Nobel Peace Prize,” Moon reportedly told a meeting of senior secretaries, according to Reuters. “What we need is only peace.”

At a rally in Michigan on Saturday night, the crowd broke out into chants of “Nobel, Nobel, Nobel!” when Trump was discussing the issue of the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

The president appeared surprised, amused and perhaps even touched by the sentiment.

“That’s very nice, thank you,” he said. “I just want to get the job done.”

Trump was asked about the prospect of receiving the peace prize on Tuesday and responded Moon “was very nice when he suggested it.”

“I want to get peace. That’s the main thing,” he added.

Fox News reported, “An award would likely be controversial among many peace activists, who would point to Trump’s fiery language toward North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un — whom he dubbed “rocket man” and warned was on a “suicide mission for himself” in 2017.”

The news outlet added, “But supporters say that Trump’s tactics were part of a ‘peace through strength’ approach of the kind that proved successful for President Ronald Reagan when he faced down the Soviet Union.”

“The peace through strength approach to national security is delivering results, not just in North Korea,” Messer said. “ISIS is on the run and I think the world is waking up to the fact that there’s a new sheriff in town and the world’s most important leader today is Donald Trump.”

What do you think? Scroll down to comment below.</s>President Donald Trump tells reporters a time and place for his meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un has been set and will be announced soon, as he leaves for Dallas to address the National Rifle Association, in Washington, Friday, May 4, 2018. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

meeting with Kim seemed outlandish just a few months ago when the two leaders were trading threats

President Donald Trump offered his latest teaser Friday for a historic U.S. summit with North Korea: The time and place have been set but he’s not saying when and where.

The White House did, however, announce the details of a separate meeting later this month between Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, as the U.S. administration pushed back on a report that Trump is considering the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the allied nation.

Trump and Moon would meet at the White House on May 22 to “continue their close co-ordination on developments regarding the Korean Peninsula” following last Friday’s meeting between Moon and Kim Jong Un. They will also discuss the U.S. president’s own upcoming summit with the North Korean leader, a statement said.

Earlier this week, Trump expressed a preference for holding the “big event” with Kim in the demilitarized zone or DMZ between the two Koreas, where Moon and Kim met. He also said Singapore was in contention to host what will be the first summit of between a U.S. and a North Korean leader.

“We now have a date and we have a location. We’ll be announcing it soon,” Trump told reporters Friday from the White House South Lawn before departing for Dallas. He’s previously said the summit was planned for May or early June.

A meeting with Kim seemed an outlandish possibility just a few months ago when the two leaders were trading threats and insults over North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons. But momentum for diplomacy has built this year as the rival Koreas have patched up ties. In March, Trump unexpectedly accepted an offer of talks from Kim after the North Korean dictator agreed to suspend nuclear and ballistic missile tests and discuss “denuclearization.”

According to South Korea, Kim has said he’d be willing to give up his nukes if the United States commits to a formal end to the Korean War and pledges not to attack the North. But his exact demands for relinquishing weapons that his nation spent decades building remains unclear.

Trump said that withdrawing U.S. forces from South Korea is “not on the table.” Some 28,500 U.S. forces are based in the allied nation, a military presence that has been preserved to deter North Korea since the war ended in 1953 without a peace treaty.

“Now I have to tell you, at some point into the future, I would like to save the money,” Trump said later as he prepared to board Air Force One. “You know we have 32,000 troops there but I think a lot of great things will happen but troops are not on the table. Absolutely.”

The New York Times reported that Trump has asked the Pentagon to prepare options plans for drawing down American troops. It cited unnamed officials as saying that wasn’t intended to be a bargaining chip with Kim, but did reflect that a prospective peace treaty between the Koreas could diminish the need for U.S. forces in South Korea.

At the inter-Korean summit last Friday, held on the southern side of the DMZ, Moon and Kim pledged to rid the peninsula of nuclear weapons and seek a formal end this year to the Korean conflict where the opposing sides remain technically at war more than six decades after fighting halted with an armistice.

But for Trump to contemplate withdrawing troops now would be a quixotic move as he enters into negotiations with Kim whose demands and intentions are uncertain. Two weeks ago, shortly before the inter-Korean summit, Moon said that Kim actually wasn’t insisting on a longstanding demand for the withdrawal of U.S. troops as a precondition for abandoning his nukes.

National security adviser John Bolton, who met his South Korean counterpart Chung Eui-yong in Washington on Friday, called the Times report “utter nonsense.”

During his presidential campaign, Trump complained that South Korea does not do enough to financially support the American military commitment. In March, Washington and Seoul began negotiations on how much South Korea should offset the costs of the deployment in the coming years. Under the current agreement that expires at the end of 2018, the South provides about $830 million per year.

Before Trump meets Kim, Washington is looking for North Korea to address another persistent source of tension between the adversaries: the detention of three Korean-Americans accused of anti-state of activities in the North.

Trump hinted that the release of Kim Dong Chul, Kim Hak Song and Tony Kim was in the offing, but again was sparing on the details.

“We’re having very substantive talks with North Korea and a lot of things have already happened with respect to the hostages, and I think you’re going to see very good things. As I said yesterday, stay tuned,” Trump said, referring to an earlier tweet on the issue.

Associated Press writer Ken Thomas contributed to this report.

Matthew Pennington And Zeke Miller, The Associated Press

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.</s>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump offered his latest teaser Friday for a historic U.S. summit with North Korea: The time and place have been set but he's not saying when and where.

The White House did, however, announce the details of a separate meeting later this month between Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, as the U.S. administration pushed back on a report that Trump is considering the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the allied nation.

Trump and Moon would meet at the White House on May 22 to "continue their close coordination on developments regarding the Korean Peninsula" following last Friday's meeting between Moon and Kim Jong Un. They will also discuss the U.S. president's own upcoming summit with the North Korean leader, a statement said.

Earlier this week, Trump expressed a preference for holding the "big event" with Kim in the demilitarized zone or DMZ between the two Koreas, where Moon and Kim met. He also said Singapore was in contention to host what will be the first summit of between a U.S. and a North Korean leader.

"We now have a date and we have a location. We'll be announcing it soon," Trump told reporters Friday from the White House South Lawn before departing for Dallas. He's previously said the summit was planned for May or early June.

A meeting with Kim seemed an outlandish possibility just a few months ago when the two leaders were trading threats and insults over North Korea's development of nuclear weapons. But momentum for diplomacy has built this year as the rival Koreas have patched up ties. In March, Trump unexpectedly accepted an offer of talks from Kim after the North Korean dictator agreed to suspend nuclear and ballistic missile tests and discuss "denuclearization."

According to South Korea, Kim has said he'd be willing to give up his nukes if the United States commits to a formal end to the Korean War and pledges not to attack the North. But his exact demands for relinquishing weapons that his nation spent decades building remains unclear.

Trump said that withdrawing U.S. forces from South Korea is "not on the table." Some 28,500 U.S. forces are based in the allied nation, a military presence that has been preserved to deter North Korea since the war ended in 1953 without a peace treaty.

"Now I have to tell you, at some point into the future, I would like to save the money," Trump said later as he prepared to board Air Force One. "You know we have 32,000 troops there but I think a lot of great things will happen but troops are not on the table. Absolutely."

The New York Times reported that Trump has asked the Pentagon to prepare options plans for drawing down American troops. It cited unnamed officials as saying that wasn't intended to be a bargaining chip with Kim, but did reflect that a prospective peace treaty between the Koreas could diminish the need for U.S. forces in South Korea.

At the inter-Korean summit last Friday, held on the southern side of the DMZ, Moon and Kim pledged to rid the peninsula of nuclear weapons and seek a formal end this year to the Korean conflict where the opposing sides remain technically at war more than six decades after fighting halted with an armistice.

But for Trump to contemplate withdrawing troops now would be a quixotic move as he enters into negotiations with Kim whose demands and intentions are uncertain. Two weeks ago, shortly before the inter-Korean summit, Moon said that Kim actually wasn't insisting on a longstanding demand for the withdrawal of U.S. troops as a precondition for abandoning his nukes.

National security adviser John Bolton, who met his South Korean counterpart Chung Eui-yong in Washington on Friday, called the Times report "utter nonsense."

During his presidential campaign, Trump complained that South Korea does not do enough to financially support the American military commitment. In March, Washington and Seoul began negotiations on how much South Korea should offset the costs of the deployment in the coming years. Under the current agreement that expires at the end of 2018, the South provides about $830 million per year.

Before Trump meets Kim, Washington is looking for North Korea to address another persistent source of tension between the adversaries: the detention of three Korean-Americans accused of anti-state of activities in the North.

Trump hinted that the release of Kim Dong Chul, Kim Hak Song and Tony Kim was in the offing, but again was sparing on the details.

"We're having very substantive talks with North Korea and a lot of things have already happened with respect to the hostages, and I think you're going to see very good things. As I said yesterday, stay tuned," Trump said, referring to an earlier tweet on the issue.

Associated Press writer Ken Thomas contributed to this report.</s>WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump offered his latest teaser Friday for a historic U.S. summit with North Korea: The time and place have been set but he's not saying when and where.

The White House did, however, announce the details of a separate meeting later this month between Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, as the U.S. administration pushed back on a report that Trump is considering the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the allied nation.

Trump and Moon would meet at the White House on May 22 to "continue their close co-ordination on developments regarding the Korean Peninsula" following last Friday's meeting between Moon and Kim Jong Un. They will also discuss the U.S. president's own upcoming summit with the North Korean leader, a statement said.

Earlier this week, Trump expressed a preference for holding the "big event" with Kim in the demilitarized zone or DMZ between the two Koreas, where Moon and Kim met. He also said Singapore was in contention to host what will be the first summit of between a U.S. and a North Korean leader.

"We now have a date and we have a location. We'll be announcing it soon," Trump told reporters Friday from the White House South Lawn before departing for Dallas. He's previously said the summit was planned for May or early June.

A meeting with Kim seemed an outlandish possibility just a few months ago when the two leaders were trading threats and insults over North Korea's development of nuclear weapons. But momentum for diplomacy has built this year as the rival Koreas have patched up ties. In March, Trump unexpectedly accepted an offer of talks from Kim after the North Korean dictator agreed to suspend nuclear and ballistic missile tests and discuss "denuclearization."

According to South Korea, Kim has said he'd be willing to give up his nukes if the United States commits to a formal end to the Korean War and pledges not to attack the North. But his exact demands for relinquishing weapons that his nation spent decades building remains unclear.

Trump said that withdrawing U.S. forces from South Korea is "not on the table." Some 28,500 U.S. forces are based in the allied nation, a military presence that has been preserved to deter North Korea since the war ended in 1953 without a peace treaty.

"Now I have to tell you, at some point into the future, I would like to save the money," Trump said later as he prepared to board Air Force One. "You know we have 32,000 troops there but I think a lot of great things will happen but troops are not on the table. Absolutely."

The New York Times reported that Trump has asked the Pentagon to prepare options plans for drawing down American troops. It cited unnamed officials as saying that wasn't intended to be a bargaining chip with Kim, but did reflect that a prospective peace treaty between the Koreas could diminish the need for U.S. forces in South Korea.</s>WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump offered his latest teaser Friday for a historic U.S. summit with North Korea: The time and place have been set but he's not saying when and where.

The White House did, however, announce the details of a separate meeting later this month between Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, as the U.S. administration pushed back on a report that Trump is considering the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the allied nation.

Trump and Moon would meet at the White House on May 22 to "continue their close co-ordination on developments regarding the Korean Peninsula" following last Friday's meeting between Moon and Kim Jong Un. They will also discuss the U.S. president's own upcoming summit with the North Korean leader, a statement said.

Earlier this week, Trump expressed a preference for holding the "big event" with Kim in the demilitarized zone or DMZ between the two Koreas, where Moon and Kim met. He also said Singapore was in contention to host what will be the first summit of between a U.S. and a North Korean leader.

"We now have a date and we have a location. We'll be announcing it soon," Trump told reporters Friday from the White House South Lawn before departing for Dallas. He's previously said the summit was planned for May or early June.

A meeting with Kim seemed an outlandish possibility just a few months ago when the two leaders were trading threats and insults over North Korea's development of nuclear weapons. But momentum for diplomacy has built this year as the rival Koreas have patched up ties. In March, Trump unexpectedly accepted an offer of talks from Kim after the North Korean dictator agreed to suspend nuclear and ballistic missile tests and discuss "denuclearization."

According to South Korea, Kim has said he'd be willing to give up his nukes if the United States commits to a formal end to the Korean War and pledges not to attack the North. But his exact demands for relinquishing weapons that his nation spent decades building remains unclear.

Trump said that withdrawing U.S. forces from South Korea is "not on the table." Some 28,500 U.S. forces are based in the allied nation, a military presence that has been preserved to deter North Korea since the war ended in 1953 without a peace treaty.

"Now I have to tell you, at some point into the future, I would like to save the money," Trump said later as he prepared to board Air Force One. "You know we have 32,000 troops there but I think a lot of great things will happen but troops are not on the table. Absolutely."

The New York Times reported that Trump has asked the Pentagon to prepare options plans for drawing down American troops. It cited unnamed officials as saying that wasn't intended to be a bargaining chip with Kim, but did reflect that a prospective peace treaty between the Koreas could diminish the need for U.S. forces in South Korea.</s>President Donald Trump announced Friday that a date and location has been set for a planned meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

“We now have a date and we have a location, we’ll be announcing it soon,” Trump told reporters outside the White House, right before he left Washington, D.C., for Texas.

According to Reuters, the White House will be revealing both the date and location in an upcoming statement. The news hints at progress in regard to the potential release of three Americans currently being held by the foreign regime.

Reports that the three Americans, who had been arrested and held in a labor camp, were recently moved to a hotel in Pyongyang are currently being investigated by the U.S. government.

“They are staying in a hotel on the outskirts of Pyongyang,” said Choi Sung-ryong, a South Korean activist with contacts in North Korea, according to South China Morning Post.

Two of the hostages were detained in 2017, after Trump assumed the presidency.

White House officials have been hopeful that Kim Hak-song, Kim Sang-duk and Kim Dong-chul will be released by the regime before the summit between Trump and Kim.

“We’re having very substantive talks with North Korea and a lot of things have already happened with regard to the (U.S.) hostages,” Trump told reporters. “I think you’re going to be seeing very good things.”

The president is also expected to push the North Korean leader to give up his country’s nuclear weapons.

The president said Friday that, as part of negotiations, he would consider reducing the U.S. military presence along the South Korean border.

Such a reduction would not come immediately, Trump said, but it could be an option in the long term.

“Now I have to tell you, at some point into the future, I would like to save the money. You know, we have 32,000 troops there,” Trump said.

Though no location for the summit has been given as of yet, Trump hinted earlier this week that the demilitarized zone between both North and South Korea would be a prime spot, though he said that Singapore would also be an excellent venue.

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The Peace House at the DMZ was the chosen location for a meeting that took place last month between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

As reported by The Western Journal, the historic meeting saw both officials agree to seek peace and officially end the Korean War. Kim and Moon shook hands in a show of unity — a gesture that the citizens of North Korea did not see, at least in real time.

“North Korean media will cut and splice to show Kim in the most favorable light, and ideally in a superior position to his southern counterpart,” said Euan Graham, the Lowy Institute’s international security director.

Graham added that the chance for embarrassment on live TV poses too great a risk for the North Korean dictator, so it is rarely an option for his regime.

Graham said he wasn’t surprised by the move to shun the live broadcast, as it was “the same for the Winter Olympics.”

What do you think? Scroll down to comment below.</s>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump will host South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the White House on May 22, and the two will discuss the upcoming summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the White House said on Friday.</s>U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said the date and location have been set for a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, building suspense for the unprecedented talks, as South Korea said it would oppose a withdrawal of U.S. troops from the area.

The White House has said the first meeting between sitting U.S. and North Korean leaders could take place in the coming weeks and that it will announce the details soon. Trump is to push North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons.

The demilitarized zone, or DMZ, between North and South Korea, and Singapore are among the top choices being considered for the summit. Trump this week expressed a preference for the DMZ but also said Singapore was possible.

The Peace House at the DMZ was the venue for a meeting last month between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

Trump's national security adviser, John Bolton, met with his South Korean counterpart, Chung Eui-yong, at the White House on Friday.

Chung told reporters afterward that it was "unacceptable that the issue of the U.S. Forces Korea keeps being raised."

The New York Times said Trump had asked the Pentagon for withdrawal options, although Trump said it was not true and Bolton called the report "utter nonsense."

"Now, I have to tell you, at some point into the future, I would like to save the money," Trump told reporters. "But troops are not on the table."

Trump, a former reality TV star who likes to build suspense about upcoming presidential news, did not give a date or location for the North Korea summit and White House officials did not immediately provide further clarity.

He told the National Rifle Association's annual convention in Dallas that he had toned down his rhetoric in anticipation of the talks after labeling Kim "Little Rocket Man" last year and threatening him with "fire and fury."

"I won't use the rhetoric now," he said. "Now I'm trying to calm it down a little bit."

The U.S. government is looking into reports that three Americans arrested in recent years in North Korea had recently been relocated from a labor camp to a hotel near Pyongyang, as expectations grow that they will be released before the summit.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said on Thursday that if North Korea were to free the three Americans, "We certainly would see this as a sign of good will" ahead of the Trump-Kim summit.

Trump, speaking to reporters outside the White House, suggested activity was under way involving the captives.

"We're having very substantive talks with North Korea and a lot of things have already happened with respect to the (U.S.) hostages. I think you're going to see very good things," Trump told reporters.</s>President Donald Trump on Friday said the date and location have been set for a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, which would be announced soon, and hinted at progress in winning the release of three Americans held in North Korea. The White House has said the first meeting between sitting US and North Korean leaders could take place in the coming weeks. Trump is expected to push for North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons.

“We’re having very substantive talks with North Korea and a lot of things have already happened with respect to the (US) hostages. I think you’re going to see very good things,” Trump told reporters. The US government is looking into reports that three Americans arrested in recent years in North Korea had recently been relocated from a labor camp to a hotel near Pyongyang, as expectations grow that they will be released before the summit.

Trump said this week that the demilitarized zone, or DMZ, between North and South Korea would be an excellent venue for the planned summit, but that Singapore was also a possible site. The Peace House at the DMZ was the venue for a meeting last month between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

Trump also told reporters on Friday that he was not considering reducing the US military’s presence in South Korea as part of the negotiations. “Troops are not on the table,” he said before a flight to Dallas, Texas, where he will address the National Rifle Association.

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U.S. President Donald Trump announces that he will meet South Korean President Moon Jae-in on May 22.