President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he expects to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un again before the end of the year, raising the possibility of renewed direct talks between Washington and Pyongyang.
Trump made the comment after The Wall Street Journal reported that his administration was looking into arranging another meeting with Kim, potentially around the November APEC summit in Shenzhen, China.
Asked at the White House whether he expected to meet Kim later this year, Trump replied, “Yeah, I will be.”
Neither the White House nor North Korea has officially confirmed that a summit is being planned.
Trump is expected to attend the APEC summit and has instructed officials to re-establish contact with the North Korean government, according to the Journal. The reported goal is to reopen discussions over North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme.
Trump and Kim held three meetings during Trump’s first term, with the talks focused largely on denuclearisation. However, the negotiations failed to produce a lasting agreement. Since then, North Korea has continued developing its nuclear capabilities, with analysts estimating that the country now possesses dozens of nuclear warheads.
Kim has shown little interest in giving up North Korea’s nuclear arsenal. Instead, he has pushed for the United States and the international community to accept his country as a nuclear-armed state. He has also rejected negotiations that require Pyongyang to commit to denuclearisation.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Trump said he knows Kim well and expressed confidence that relations with North Korea would ultimately be “fine.”
His comments came shortly after the administration reduced the number of U.S. troops taking part in joint military exercises with South Korea.
Trump said he ordered the reduction in participation in the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield drills because of what he described as his “very good relationship” with Kim. He argued that the exercises could be interpreted by North Korea as an unnecessarily hostile gesture.
Trump also pointed to South Korea’s limited support during the war with Iran as another consideration.
The United States and South Korea have maintained a military alliance for more than seven decades. The annual exercises began this week and normally last about 10 days, but this year’s drills were shortened to five days following Trump’s decision. They are scheduled to conclude Friday
The change has raised concerns among U.S. allies in East Asia, particularly South Korea and Japan. Officials in both countries are reportedly reassessing how reliable the American security commitment would be if North Korea or China took hostile action.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has called for greater military independence from Washington and is also seeking to accelerate the country’s plans to acquire nuclear-powered submarines.
Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in Seoul on Wednesday for a previously scheduled visit. During talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, Cho expressed hope that Beijing would cooperate in efforts to achieve denuclearisation on the Korean Peninsula.
Source: CBS NEWS
