Kim walks to greet Trump during their meeting June 30, 2019. (AFP Photo)
A summit between the United States and North Korea appears possible “at any time” as signs have emerged of dialogue between them, a lawmaker citing South Korea’s spy agency said on Sept. 1.
U.S. President Donald Trump said last month he plans to again meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, but the public response from Pyongyang has been mostly muted and analysts were skeptical of imminent talks.
“Regarding the North Korea-U.S. summit, there was an analysis that it should be viewed as possible at any time,” South Korean lawmaker Youn Kun-young told reporters, citing a briefing by the National Intelligence Service.
“It was stated that while no facts regarding concrete contact between the two sides have been presented, there are signs of dialogue,” he added.
Trump, eyeing a revived bond he claims to have with Kim, also said in August it was important to “get along” with the North Korean leader, adding that Pyongyang now had 57 “very powerful” nuclear weapons.
The North has since said Kim had “good memories and feelings” about Trump and that the relationship between the two leaders remains “excellent,” but did not clearly respond to the U.S. president’s overtures.
Trump’s comments floating a new meeting were accompanied by Washington scaling back joint U.S.-South Korean military drills in August.
That move alarmed Washington’s Asian allies, while sparking speculation that he was seeking a foreign policy win as the Iran war stalls.
