South Korea working to encourage dialogue, ‘we must make every effort’
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said that “it is clear that US President Donald Trump wants dialogue with North Korea, while nuclear negotiations remain at a stalemate.”
“What is clear – Lee underlined during a press conference – is that President Trump wants dialogue; I also urge him to take the path of dialogue.
Trump, seeking to restore the bond he claims to have established with Kim during his first term, told reporters last month that he wanted to meet the North Korean leader this year. The US president also underlined the importance of “getting along” with Kim, adding that Pyongyang now has 57 “very powerful” nuclear weapons (according to Seoul’s estimates, the number is between 80 and 120).
North Korea has not explicitly responded to Trump’s overtures. Lee said South Korea was continuing with “preliminary coordination efforts” to foster dialogue between North Korea and the United States, adding that a meeting “remains difficult … but not impossible.” “I can’t say with certainty what the probability is – concluded Lee – but it is equally clear that we must make every possible effort to transform this possibility into reality”.
