Trump hints at new summit with Kim
US President Donald Trump has said that he would “most likely” meet Kim Jong-un, top leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, for a second time, as he praised Pyongyang’s latest efforts at denuclearization.
In an interview with Reuters on Monday, Trump, who held a historic summit with Kim on June 12 in Singapore, said the they are “most likely” to hold a second summit. But he did not give any further details.
Trump also said he believed the DPRK leader had taken specific steps toward denuclearization. “I like him. He likes me,” Trump said, adding that “there’s no ballistic missiles going up, there’s a lot of silence . ... I have very good personal relations with Chairman Kim, and I think that’s what holds it together.”
The Republic of Korea’s presidential Blue House said on Tuesday that Trump’s mention of the possibility of another summit with Kim could be a sign of progress in Washington’s relations with Pyongyang.
“We think it is part of a process for achieving the two leaders’ resolve for the denuclearization and peace on the peninsula,” Blue House spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said, adding that Seoul hopes DPRK-US relations will “make rapid progress and bear fruit”.
US National Security Advisor John Bolton said on Sunday that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will paid his fourth visit to the DPRK. Without giving a specific timeframe, media speculation said Pompeo may discuss with the DPRK the possibility of the second summit.
Lyu Chao, director of the Border Study Institute at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, said if a second summit was held, it would be more to focus on discussing specific issues including the sequence and reciprocity in the process of denuclearization.
I have very good personal relations with Chairman Kim, and I think that’s what holds it together.”
Donald Trump,
Saying the first summit was more of a symbolic attempt to improve ties, Lyu said challenges remain as the two sides are still in a stalemate over some key issues.
Lyu noted that Pyongyang has demonstrated restraint and made quite a lot of commitments on nonproliferation, but Trump and his team insisted that the DPRK will receive relief only when it demonstrates verifiable and irreversible steps to denuclearization.
“The most anticipated part for the next summit is whether the two sides can reach an agreement on the sequence issue, otherwise the process of denuclearization may be extended indefinitely,” Lyu said.
Meanwhile, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Monday that UN SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres praised the recent efforts by the DPRK and the ROK to build trust and confidence and “looked forward to discussing with the parties in September what support he can offer to aid peace and denuclearization”.
Yonhap News Agency said Seoul sees the UN General Assembly scheduled to be held next month as a desirable venue for the declaration to officially end the 1950-53 Korean War but said they are flexible about its formality.
DPRK Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho is expected to attend the assembly.
Xinhua contributed to this story.