CNN reported on Saturday that US administration officials discussed in private conversations the possibility of arranging a meeting between Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un when the US president visits Asia next month.
CNN quoted sources familiar with the matter as saying that officials have not yet conducted any serious logistical planning to arrange such a visit, noting that there were no communications between Washington and Pyongyang, as was the case at times during Trump’s first term.
Two sources revealed to CNN that Trump’s attempt to communicate with the North Korean leader earlier this year did not find any response because the North Koreans did not accept the message.
Trump privately and publicly expressed his desire to meet his North Korean counterpart, and officials left the door open for a meeting during his trip to Asia.
In Trump’s first term, officials arranged a handshake between the two men at the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas less than 48 hours after the president tweeted an invitation to meet, an example of how quickly things can change.
The sources said that Trump’s personal interest in a possible meeting with Kim had increased after he hosted South Korean President Lee Jae-myung at the White House last August.
Last September, Kim said that he had good memories of US President Trump, and expressed his openness to talks with the United States.
The most prominent North Korean leader He is open to holding talks with the United States in the future “if Washington abandons its demand that his country disarm its nuclear weapons.”
He added that building nuclear weapons to protect the country’s security in the face of serious threats from the United States and South Korea is a matter of existence.
