Trump says he received a 'beautiful letter' from North Korea's Kim Jong Un

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US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he received a very warm letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Monday, calling the correspondence "beautiful."
Trump holds up what he described as a letter from North Korean leader Kim Jon Un as he speaks to the news media prior to departing for travel to Iowa from the South Lawn of the White House. PHOTO: REUTERS

WASHINGTON (AFP) - United States President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (June 11) that he has received another "beautiful letter" from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and expressed openness to holding a third summit with him.

Indicating that he continues to trust Mr Kim, despite making little progress in efforts to get Pyongyang to give up nuclear weapons, Mr Trump said the North Korean strongman "has kept his word".

"That's very important to me," he said at the White House.

Mr Trump did not divulge what was in the letter from Mr Kim.

He has described previous letters as "beautiful" and even said that he and the leader of one of the world's most repressive countries "fell in love".

Mr Trump has made history by meeting Mr Kim twice, in a bid to lure North Korea into giving up nuclear weapons.

However, US intelligence officials say Pyongyang has no intention of following through.

Despite widespread perceptions that the last summit, held in Hanoi in February, was a failure, Mr Trump said he would be open to an eventual third meeting.

"It could happen but I want to bring it further down the line," Mr Trump said.

White House national security adviser John Bolton is also backing a new summit.

"We're ready when they are," he told The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday.

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