Envoy’s visit raises hopes of new summit
US President Donald Trump could announce a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as soon as tomorrow, following an expected meeting at the White House with a North Korean envoy.
Kim’s lead negotiator, former spymaster Kim Yong Chol, is expected to carry a letter from the North Korean dictator to Trump when he travels to Washington. He is expected to meet the President tomorrow, in what would be a repeat of an unusual diplomatic move ahead of the first summit between the two leaders last June.
The visit comes amid wrangling within the Administration over terms for a second Trump-Kim meeting and the promised eradication of North Korea’s nuclear weapons.
Trump has been upbeat about a second round of face-to-face negotiations with Kim, despite a lack of measurable progress towards disarmament.
“With North Korea, we have a very good dialogue,” Trump said on January 6. “I’m going to not go any further than that. I’m just going to say it’s very special. And anybody else but me, you’d be in war right now.”
The summit would likely take place in March or April, with Danang, Vietnam, the most likely venue. Trump and Kim have exchanged letters in recent weeks, two sources said.
“We are working to make progress on our goal of achieving the final, fully verified denuclearisation of North Korea, and the President looks forward to meeting Chairman Kim again at their second summit at a place and time yet to be determined,” said a White House spokesperson.
Kim Yong Chol is also expected to meet CIA Director Gina Haspel, who has become more involved in matters related to Pyongyang’s nuclear threat in recent months.—