South Korea PM, Trump discuss possible talks with North Korea’s Kim, Yonhap says

WASHINGTON - South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok and US President Donald Trump discussed a possible reopening of talks between Mr Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in a meeting in Washington, Yonhap news agency reported on March 14.

Mr Kim Min-seok told Mr Trump he was the only Western leader to have had dialogue with North Korea’s Mr Kim and was currently the only person who could resolve issues on the Korean peninsula, Yonhap quoted Mr Kim Min-seok as telling reporters in Washington.

“President Trump said he was curious if Kim (Jong Un) wants to talk to the US or him, and asked about my views on that,” Mr Kim Min-seok was quoted as saying.

He did not say what specific suggestions he made to Mr Trump, but said he told Mr Trump that recent comments by Pyongyang indicated Mr Kim Jong Un may be open to dialogue with the US, Yonhap said. Mr Trump showed much interest in the topic, Mr Kim Min-seok added.

Mr Trump met Mr Kim Jong Un, the North Korean leader, for three rounds of talks in 2018 and 2019 to negotiate better relations and a path for Pyongyang to end its nuclear weapons programme, but the talks stalled when Mr Trump was voted out of office.

A South Korean official confirmed the March 13 meeting between Mr Kim Min-seok and Mr Trump but gave no other details. Mr Kim Min-seok’s office in Seoul did not respond to calls seeking confirmation.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the meeting, which was not previously announced and occurred a day after Mr Kim Min-seok met US Vice-President J.D. Vance in Washington on March 12.

Strong commitment

Mr Kim Min-seok’s office has said he told Mr Vance that South Korean Parliament’s approval of a Bill this week enabling Seoul to implement a US$350 billion (S$448.5 billion) investment pledge demonstrated the government’s strong commitment to carrying out the agreement reached between the countries’ leaders.

Mr Kim’s office said Mr Vance welcomed the Bill’s passage, saying it established the legal conditions needed to implement the investment deal, and called for continued close communication between the governments on the issue.

In late January, Mr Trump threatened to raise tariffs on South Korean goods to 25 per cent, saying Seoul’s legislature had yet to enact the trade framework that had capped US tariffs at 15 per cent.

Seoul and Washington are treaty allies with close military ties, and more than 28,000 US troops are stationed in South Korea.

South Korean media has reported that some US missile defence batteries have been shipped out of South Korea’s Osan Air Base and were likely to be redeployed to US bases in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, given the conflict in the Middle East. REUTERS