North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is open to meeting US president Donald Trump and could seek to set up a summit for March next year, South Korea’s spy agency said on Tuesday.
Mr Kim has previously said he would be willing to meet Mr Trump if the US dropped “the absurd obsession with denuclearising us and accepts reality, and wants genuine peaceful coexistence”.
“The NIS (National Intelligence Service) believes that Kim Jong Un is willing to engage in dialogue with the United States and will have contact with the United States in the future when conditions are met,” lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun told the media after a briefing by the South Korean spy agency.
In September, the North Korean leader said that there was “no reason for us not to sit down with the United States”, according to the state-run KCNA news agency.
During his recent trip to Asia, Mr Trump also said he was open to meeting the North Korean leader. “I would. If you want to put out the word, I’m open to it,” the US president told reporters onboard Air Force One.
Mr Trump had said talks with Mr Kim could feature as part of his Asia tour, which included stops in Malaysia, Japan and South Korea. Later on, he suggested it had not proved feasible due to his busy schedule. Mr Trump told reporters: “We’ll come back, and we’ll, at some point in the not-too-distant future, meet with North Korea.”
Mr Lee, from the main opposition People Power Party, said on Tuesday: “Although the much-anticipated North Korea-US summit during APEC failed to materialise, various channels confirm that North Korea has been preparing behind the scenes for dialogue with the US.”
During his last meeting with Mr Kim, Mr Trump made history as the first sitting US president to set foot in North Korea. Mr Trump also recently said that he “had a great relationship” with the North Korean leader.
Mr Kim said in September: “I still have a good memory of President Trump.”
