North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said he is open to a third summit with President Donald Trump, but set the year’s end as a deadline for Washington to offer mutually acceptable terms for an agreement to salvage the high-stakes nuclear diplomacy, the North’s state-run media said on Saturday.
Mr. Kim made the comments during a speech on Friday at a session of North Korea’s rubber stamp parliament, which made a slew of personnel changes that bolstered his diplomatic lineup amid stalemated negotiations with the United States.
His speech came hours after Mr. Trump and visiting South Korean President Moon Jae-in met in Washington and agreed on the importance of nuclear talks with North Korea.
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“We of course place importance on resolving problems through dialogue and negotiations. But U.S.-style dialogue of unilaterally pushing its demands doesn’t fit us, and we have no interest in it,” Mr. Kim said.
According to the Korean Central News Agency, Mr. Kim blamed the collapse of his summit with Mr. Trump in February on what he described as unilateral demands by the United States, which he said raised questions over whether Washington has genuine willingness to improve relations. But he said his personal relationship with Mr. Trump remains good and that they could exchange letters at “any time.”
Mr. Trump responded to the remarks by saying he agreed with Mr. Kim about their relationship, and also expressed a desire for another summit. “I agree with Kim Jong-un that our personal relationship remains very good, perhaps the term excellent would be more accurate, and that a third Summit would be good in that we fully understand where we each stand,” he tweeted. “I look forward to the day, which could be soon, when Nuclear Weapons and Sanctions can be removed, and then watching North Korea become one of the most successful nations of the World!”
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