On Saturday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un said a third summit with US President Donald Trump is possible but only if Washington brought the “right attitude“, according to North Korean state media.
He urged President Trump to pursue a deal that was “mutually acceptable.” President Trump responded via Twitter praising the North Korean leader and welcoming the idea of holding another summit.
The two heads of state met for the first time in history in Singapore last year while a planned summit in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi broke down in February 2019.
The planning of the second summit came to an abrupt ending as President Trump said that North Korea had wanted to lift economic sanctions in exchange for disabling a major nuclear site, infuriating the President to walk away.
North Koreans disputed such statement.
Kim Jong-un has since stated that the cancelled summit had created a “strong doubt” in him over whether the USA’s intention is to really improve US-North Korea relations.
He continued by saying that the US “mistakenly believe that if they pressure us to the maximum, they can subdue us” and called on Washington to cease “hostile” negotiating strategies.
However, he added that his personal relationship to President Trump remains “excellent“.
In response, President Trump tweeted: “I agree with Kim Jong-un of North Korea that our personal relationship remains very good, perhaps the term excellent would be even more accurate, and that a third summit would be good in that we fully understand where we each stand…”.
In March, North Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Choe Sun-hui accused Washington of taking a “gangster-like” attitude and that it had thrown away a “golden opportunity” in Hanoi.
Pyongyang has given the US now until the end of the year to make a “courageous decision” over any new summit plans.
Kim Dong-yup of Kyungnam University’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies in South Korea told Reuters that Kim’s statements indicated that North Korea would not cling to talks with the USA forever. Instead, the country could look “to diversify its diplomatic relations with other countries“.
Kim Jong-un’s comments come just one day after President Trump mentioned that further meetings with North Korea are possible, at the start of talks in Washington with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
