US President Donald Trump said Friday that he appreciates the help of Russia and China in negotiating the dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
  
Trump told reporters at the White House that "a lot of progress" is being made with North Korea and that he thinks there is "a lot of excitement" for reaching a deal with the regime.
  
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin held their first summit in Russia's Vladivostok on Thursday, some two months after Trump and Kim's second summit in Vietnam collapsed with no agreement.
  
"I appreciated President Putin's statement yesterday. He wants to see it done also," Trump said. "I have a great relationship with Kim Jong-un. I appreciate that Russia and China is helping us."
   

Kim has also held four summits with Xi Jinping of China, the North's sole major ally and largest trading partner.
  
Trump said he thinks China is helping the US because they don't want nuclear weapons at their doorstep but also "because of the fact that we are in a trade deal, which, by the way, is going very well. (Yonhap)