Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, who met with President Trump, said that President Donald Trump—scheduled to visit China from late this month into early next month—expressed significant interest in meeting Kim Jong Un, Chairman of North Korea's State Affairs Commission.
While visiting the United States, Prime Minister Kim held an unscheduled, roughly 20-minute meeting with President Trump in the Oval Office on the 13th (local time). They exchanged views on North Korea; Kim said that much of the discussion involved President Trump asking for his perspective on the North Korea issue.
At a briefing with Korean correspondents at the Korean Cultural Center in Washington, D.C., Kim said President Trump told him, "I maintain a good relationship with Chairman Kim. I'm curious whether Chairman Kim wants to talk with the U.S. or with me," and that Kim offered several thoughts in response.
Kim said he told the president that, fundamentally, Trump is the only Western leader to have held direct talks with Chairman Kim, and that he regards Trump as uniquely positioned to act as a peacemaker to resolve issues on the Korean Peninsula. Kim added that the president appeared to find that observation meaningful and seemed pleased.
Kim did not disclose the specific proposals he made to President Trump.
He said his advice reflected a judgment that Washington should increase contact and dialogue to preserve even slim chances for engagement with North Korea. He pointed out a slight shift in Pyongyang's rhetoric—from expressions like "there is no reason we can't meet" to more recent wording such as "there is no reason our relations must be bad"—language that hints at possible normalization. He told the president that, at minimum, the door to contact and dialogue remains open.
Kim added that among his proposals was a specific measure that could serve as a way to break the stalemate. He said he could not disclose the details, but that President Trump showed strong interest.
Kim said President Trump instructed his aides to follow up on several points Kim raised and to consider what measures would be appropriate with respect to North Korea. Kim added that it would be inappropriate for him to disclose the exact instructions before the president makes them public.
