US President Donald Trump has received a letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un asking for a second meeting and the White House is already looking at scheduling one, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said on Monday.
The two leaders have been discussing North Korea’s nuclear programme since their unprecedented summit in June which has been criticized for being short on concrete details. Trump told reporters on Friday that a personal letter from Kim was on the way.
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It was a very warm, very positive letter, Sanders said at a briefing. The primary purpose of the letter was to request and look to schedule another meeting with the president which we are open to and are already in the process of coordinating that, Sanders said.
She told reporters the letter exhibited a continued commitment to focus on denuclearisation of the peninsula. According to her, a military parade in Pyongyang on Sunday was a sign of good faith because it did not feature any long-range nuclear missiles.
“We think it’s important and we’re glad that we’re making progress,” Sanders said, adding that Trump deserves the “credit” for bringing the two parties to the table.
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“At the end of the day, ultimately, it’s always going to be best when you can have the two leaders sit down,” she added.
The White House has pointed to a series of accomplishments in recent months, including a release of US hostages, the repatriation of war remains believed to be of US service members and a pause in North Korea’s missile and nuclear tests, to suggest progress between the foes.
Despite follow-on negotiations on denuclearizing the peninsula hitting a snag leading to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo canceling a planned trip to the North late last month, the new letter showed signs that the discussions remain alive after weeks of apparent deadlock.
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