Kim Jong Un is willing to meet with Donald Trump, according to South Korean intelligence officials.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is willing to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump, according to reports in Seoul citing South Korean intelligence. The news was delivered by Lee Seong-kweun, opposition secretary of South Korea’s parliamentary intelligence committee, during a press briefing following a closed-door meeting with the country’s National Intelligence Service .
Why It Matters Donald Trump met Kim three times during his first term in a failed effort to persuade the North Korean leader to roll back his United Nations-sanctioned nuclear weapons program in exchange for limited sanctions relief. North Korea’s nuclear arsenal remains a central source of tension with South Korea, which estimates the Kim regime possesses around 50 warheads. In September 2023, North Korea amended its constitution to formally enshrine its nuclear capability, citing what it described as rising military cooperation between the United States and its key regional allies, South Korea and Japan. Newsweek has contacted the White House and the North Korean embassy in Beijing by email with a request for comment outside of regular office hours. What To Know Although a Trump-Kim meeting did not occur during the U.S. president’s visit to South Korea last week, “various signs have been confirmed through multiple channels indicating that North Korea was preparing behind the scenes for dialogue with the United States,” Lee cited the NIS as saying, according to Yonhap News. U.S. President Donald Trump, right, reaches to shake hands with North Korea leader Kim Jong Un at the Capella resort on Sentosa Island in Singapore on June 12, 2018. He added: “There are indications that North Korea has analyzed the policy tendencies of the U.S. administration’s working-level officials handling North Korea issues.” The agency also reported “subtle changes” in rhetoric since Kim’s fiery address to North Korea’s rubber-stamp legislature, the Supreme People’s Assembly, in September. During that speech, Kim doubled down on his country’s status as a nuclear weapons state. He also said he had fond memories of Trump and suggested he was open to resuming dialogue provided that Washington abandons its “absurd” goal of denuclearizing North Korea. Kim also dismissed recent gestures by South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, who has adopted a more conciliatory tone since taking office in June, saying “nothing has changed substantially” and noting that denuclearization of the North remains a core objective for Seoul. Since then, the 41-year-old leader has “moderated his tone” toward Washington and refrained from direct remarks about nuclear armament, Lee quoted the NIS as saying. What People Are Saying Rachel Minyoung Lee, senior fellow for the Stimson Center’s Korea Program, wrote in a recent analysis for 38 North: “ statements align with North Korea pattern of avoiding direct criticism of Trump and its disinterest in reconciliation with Seoul since Kim Jong Un’s December 2023 policy declaration defining South Korea as a “hostile” state and renouncing peaceful unification. “The timing of Pyongyang’s dialogue overtures to Trump and renewed denunciations of Seoul’s North Korea policy suggests that Kim viewed the South Korean leadership transition and the Lee government’s policy coordination with Washington as an opportunity to nudge both capitals to reconsider their approach.” What Happens Next President Donald Trump told reporters on October 24 he was “open” to a potential meeting with Kim, citing their “great relationship.” It remains unclear when such a meeting might take place, and whether concessions would be on the table without steps toward denuclearization.
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