South Korea attempts to bridge the gap for more US-Kim talks

Officials are holding behind-the-scenes talks to arrange a third summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left, and US President Donald Trump in Hanoi in February. Picture: AP

North Korean and US ­officials are holding “behind-the-scenes talks” to arrange a third summit between Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on the fate of the North’s expanding nuclear arsenal.

 South Korean President Moon Jae-in announced the talks yesterday, four months after a second meeting between the leaders in Hanoi collapsed without any agreement.

  There have been no public meetings between Washington and Pyongyang since the breakdown of the Hanoi summit, but the prospects for a resumption of US-North Korea diplomacy have brightened since Mr Trump and Kim recently exchanged personal letters. The US President called Kim’s letter “beautiful” while Kim described Mr Trump’s as “excellent”, though the contents of their ­letters have not been disclosed.

 Mr Moon said the leaders’ ­“willingness to engage in dialogue has never faded” and that their recent letter exchanges proved that.

Mr Moon, who met Kim three times last year, has made talks with the North as a route to forging peace on the Korean peninsula a centrepiece of his presidency. He has played a central role in facilit­ating US-North Korean negotiations, even if those efforts have at times been overshadowed by the Trump-Kim talks that he helped broker.

Mr Moon said he did not see the Hanoi summit as a failure, but instead it served as a chance for both Washington and Pyongyang to better understand each other’s positions and “put everything they want on the negotiating table”.

“The success of denuclearis­ation and the peace process on the Korean peninsula cannot be ­determined by a summit or two,” Mr Moon said, adding that discussions in Hanoi would form the basis for future talks. “Both sides clearly understand the necessity for dialogue.’’

Despite the deadlocked nuc­lear­ negotiations, Mr Trump and Kim have described their personal relationship as good.

When asked whether Kim’s recent letter ­included a mention about another summit, Mr Trump said: “Maybe there was.” “But we, you know, at some point, we’ll do that,” Mr Trump told reporters at the White House yesterday. ­“Getting along very well.’’

In yet another reminder of North Korea’s continued mistrust of the US, its Foreign Ministry said earlier yesterday that it would not surrender to US-led sanctions and accused Washington of trying to “bring us to our knees”.

Kim has said the North would seek a “new way” if the US persisted with sanctions and pressure.

Following his setback in Hanoi, Kim travelled to the Russian far east in April for his first summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kim also hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping in Pyongyang last week for their fifth summit since March last year, and experts say the North’s outreach to its tradition­al allies is aimed at strengthening its leverage with the Trump administration.

Mr Moon said he viewed the North’s expanding diplomacy with Beijing and Moscow as a posit­ive development in efforts to ­resolve the nuclear standoff.

“China and Russia have continued to play constructive roles so far to peacefully resolve the ­Korean peninsula issue,” he said. “I hope that China and Russia will play specific parts in helping the North resume dialogue at an early stage.”

Mr Moon didn’t elaborate whether US and North Korean ­officials had face-to-face meetings and, if so, where they took place.

AP