A source with knowledge of the denuclearization talks between the U.S. and North Korea said that a letter from President Donald Trump was delivered to North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un over the weekend, CNN reports.
The letter, which was flown to Pyongyang and hand-delivered to Kim, comes amid efforts to organize a second meeting between Trump and the North Korean leader, the source said, adding that North Korea’s former spy chief and one of the country’s top negotiators, Kim Yong Chol could visit the United States in the next few days to finalize details of the upcoming summit.
Among the possible locations for the meeting are Bangkok, Hanoi and Hawaii.
South Korea’s Moon Jae-in expressed support last week for a summit between the two leaders, arguing it would help “firmly solidify peace on the Korean Peninsula.”
“We will not loosen our guard until the promise to denuclearize the Peninsula is kept, and peace is fully institutionalized,” he added, nonetheless.
During the past year, Kim held a number of diplomatic meetings with several world leaders, including with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Last week, Kim made an unexpected visit to Beijing, signaling a stronger partnership between the two countries and suggesting that China remains a major player in any future action to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.
According to state-run news agencies in both countries, the two leaders agreed to “advance the political settlement process of the Korean Peninsula issue” and discussed Kim’s concerns about possible obstacles to the future growth of U.S.-North Korean relations.
President Trump’s first summit with Kim, while hailed by some as a great diplomatic achievement, has been received with some criticism for the U.S.’ failure to hold North Korea to firm guarantees.
“Now I say this, North Korea, we’re doing very well. And again, no rockets. There’s no rockets. There’s no anything. We’re doing very well,” Trump told reporters last week, stressing that sanctions on North Korea will remain in place.
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