Remarks at a Luncheon Hosted by Secretary-General António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres of the United Nations in New York City

The President. Well, thank you very much everyone. This is a great honor. And, Mr. Secretary-General, I'd like to commend you on the job you're doing at the United Nations.

I've long said the United Nations has such tremendous potential. Everybody gathered together, all of these great leaders, world leaders, people that we all know and read about on a weekly basis, sometimes a daily basis. But the United Nations has this incredible potential to bring people together.

I think we're an example; certain things we're doing now toward world peace were truly a direct—has a direct relationship to the time I spent at the United Nations, meeting some of you. Many of you are now friends.

When I first came here, even though I lived in New York, it was a little bit of a foreign territory to me, the United Nations. But now it's like home. But so many great people, so many great leaders in this room. And a lot of terrific things are happening.

We covered, as you know, during my speech, North Korea. Last year, my tone was somewhat different on North Korea than it is right now. Tremendous progress has been made. And I think you're going to see an outcome. As the expression goes, "Who knows?" But I think you're going to see a very, very great outcome.

I hope that, eventually, some of the other countries that we have conflict with—if not warlike conflict, trade conflict, other types of conflict—a lot of those problems will disappear, I think, by next year.

I want to just thank you on behalf of myself, Secretary Pompeo, Secretary Nikki Haley. So many people have such respect for the job you're doing, Mr. Secretary-General. And on behalf of the United States, I'd like to toast you, and I'd like to toast the United Nations.

Thank you very much. Thank you.