Washington: U.S. President Donald Trump is "receptive" to correspondence with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and seeks to revive the progress achieved during their first summit in 2018, a White House spokesperson stated.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Karoline Leavitt, the spokesperson, addressed the media following a report by NK News. The report, citing an "informed high-level source," claimed that North Korean diplomats in New York refused to accept a letter from Trump intended to reopen communication channels between Washington and Pyongyang. Leavitt noted, "The president remains receptive to correspondence with Kim Jong-un, and he'd like to see the progress that was made at that summit in Singapore, which I know you covered in 2018 during his first term." She further specified that details of the correspondence would be addressed by the president himself.
This development arises amidst speculations that Trump might endeavor to renew his personal diplomacy with Kim, which previously resulted in three face-to-face meetings. These meetings included the first in Singapore in 2018, the second in Hanoi in February 2019, and the third at the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom in June 2019. During the Singapore summit, Trump and Kim pledged joint efforts to achieve the "complete denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula and establish new bilateral relations. However, the agreement stalled amid growing distrust and Pyongyang's continued advancement of its nuclear and missile capabilities.
The NK News report also mentioned that Trump drafted the letter to Kim with intentions to resume dialogue. Despite several attempts to deliver the letter personally, North Korean diplomats at their U.N. mission in New York reportedly "bluntly" refused to accept it. When asked about the report, a State Department spokesperson told Yonhap News Agency that the department "does not comment on any potential diplomatic communications."
While Trump's readiness to reengage with Kim has sparked cautious optimism, concerns persist regarding Kim's willingness to engage in talks with Washington. This is partly due to North Korea's reliance on Russia for essential resources such as food, fuel, and military aid. Trump has expressed his intention to reach out to Kim again, asserting that he maintains a "good" relationship with Kim, describing the North Korean leader as a "smart guy" and recognizing North Korea as a "nuclear power."
The second Trump administration has reiterated its commitment to pursuing the "complete" denuclearization of North Korea. Meanwhile, the new South Korean President Lee Jae-myung's administration is expected to coordinate policy with Washington to tackle Pyongyang's nuclear issue. In a move aimed at easing cross-border tensions, the Lee administration suspended loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts against North Korea along the border on Wednesday, fostering cautious optimism for improving inter-Korean relations.