Singapore (CNN) President Donald Trump said the roughly 100,000 political prisoners in North Korea are going to be "the great winners" of his historic summit with dictator Kim Jong Un.

Asked during a Tuesday news conference whether he betrayed the prisoners by legitimizing Kim's regime with their meeting, Trump said no, adding: "I think I've helped them."

"Not much I can do right now. At a certain point, I really believe he's going to do things about it. I think they are one of the great winners today, that large group of people that you're talking about. I think, ultimately, they're going to be one of the great winners as a group," the US President said.

The North Korean government has a long history of abusive practices and human rights violations, something the State Department highlighted just last month.

"For more than 60 years, the people of North Korea have faced egregious human rights violations in virtually every aspect of life," State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said in a May statement.

Read More