White House: Trump receives a new letter from Kim Jong Un
WASHINGTON— The White House said Thursday President Donald Trump received a new letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and responded quickly with a letter of his own. The correspondence, following up on their Singapore summit, came amid fresh concerns over Pyongyang’s denuclearization.
Mr. Trump tweeted his thanks to the North Korean leader “for your nice letter — I look forward to seeing you soon!”
The White House did not provide details on the specific content of the letter, received Wednesday, or of Mr. Trump’s reply. White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the letters addressed a commitment to North Korea’s “complete denuclearization.”
In mid-July, Mr. Trump released a personal letter from Mr. Kim praising the “epochal progress” since their summit in Singapore. It suggested his desire for another meeting. It was unclear if Mr. Trump was referencing that letter in his tweet or a subsequent letter from Mr. Kim.
Ms. Sanders said no second meeting is “locked in” as a follow-up to the Singapore summit in June.
Mr. Trump expressed gratitude on Twitter to Mr. Kim “for keeping your word” on the return of the remains of American service members killed during the Korean War. Vice President Mike Pence and U.S. military leaders received the remains in Hawaii during a somber ceremony on Wednesday.
The latest letter from Mr. Kim arrived on the heels of concerns over North Korea’s ballistic missile program and commitment to denuclearization. Senior Trump administration officials have urged patience, cautioning that the process of denuclearizing North Korea will take time.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was headed to an Asian security meeting in Singapore, where a meeting this weekend with North Korea’s foreign minister was possible.
U.S. officials have been closely watching North Korea’s willingness to abandon its nuclear ambitions.
The Washington Post on Tuesday reported that U.S. intelligence officials suspect that North Korea is continuing to build new missiles in the same research facility that manufactured the country’s ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States.
The Post also reported that North Korean officials have talked about how they plan to deceive the U.S. about the size of their arsenal of missiles and nuclear warheads and facilities.
Meanwhile, although Mr. Trump has publicly thanked the North Korean leader for fulfilling the promise he made at their June 12 Singapore summit to return American war remains, U.S. officials had cautioned that little was known about the remains and that they could not be quickly identified.
The remains handed over by North Korea last week are “consistent with being Americans,” based on an initial examination, although none has been positively identified, a U.S. scientist who has seen the remains said Thursday.