Kim Jong Un Open to 3rd Trump Summit

EghtesadOnline: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the breakdown in talks with the United States has raised the risks of reviving tensions and he is only interested in meeting US President Donald Trump again if the United States comes with the right attitude, state media KCNA said on Saturday.

News ID: ۷۴۷۰۴۵

14 April 2019

Kim said he will wait “till the end of this year” for the United States to decide to be more flexible, according to KCNA.

“It is essential for the US to quit its current calculation method and approach us with a new one,” Kim said in a speech to the Supreme People’s Assembly on Friday, Reuters reported.

Trump and Kim have met twice, in Hanoi in February and Singapore in June, building goodwill but failing to agree on a deal to lift sanctions in exchange for North Korea abandoning its nuclear and missile programs, according to Financial Tribune.

Trump later issued a statement on Twitter that underscored the strength of his personal relationship with Kim and pointed to what he called North Korea’s “tremendous potential” for economic success, once the issue of Pyongyang’s weapons programs has been resolved.

“A third summit would be good in that we fully understand where we each stand,” the US president said in a pair of Saturday morning tweets.

“I look forward to the day, which could be soon, when Nuclear Weapons and Sanctions can be removed, and then watching North Korea become one of the most successful nations of the World!”

In his speech, the North Korean leader said the outcome in Hanoi led him to question the strategy he embraced last year of international engagement and talks with the United States.

The Hanoi summit “aroused a strong question if we were right in taking the steps with strategic decision and bold resolution, and evoked vigilance as to the US’ true willingness to improve its relations with the DPRK,” Kim said, using the initials of North Korea’s full name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Kim said that his personal relationship with Trump is still good, but that he had no interest in a third summit if it were a repeat of Hanoi.

At a meeting with South Korean President Moon in Washington on Thursday, Trump expressed a willingness for a third summit with Kim but said Washington would leave sanctions in place on Pyongyang.