The North Korean leader has described the content of the message as "excellent" and "interesting". The White House: "There is a correspondence between the two". South Korea, working as a mediator between Washington and Pyongyang, expresses satisfaction with the new developments.
Seoul (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The president of the United States, Donald J. Trump, has sent a personal letter to Kim Jong-un. According to reports in the Pyongyang media yesterday, the North Korean leader called the content of the message "excellent" and "interesting".
Trump's letter appears to be in response to what Kim had sent to the US president recently, on the anniversary of their first summit in Singapore (12 June 2018). Trump described Kim's letter as "beautiful" and "very warm", also stressing that the relationship between the two leaders remains strong and that "something very positive will happen". The hope is growing that the goodwill gestures between Trump and Kim will pave the way for the reopening of the negotiations on Pyongyang's denuclearization and on the easing of economic sanctions imposed by Washington. These had been stalled for months, following the failure of the second Kim-Trump summit in Hanoi.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported yesterday: "AAfter reading the letter, the Supreme Leader of the Party, the state and the armed forces said with satisfaction that the letter is of excellent content". "Appreciating the political judging faculty and extraordinary courage of President Trump, Kim Jong-un said that he would seriously contemplate the interesting content." Meanwhile, in Washington, the White House secretary, Sarah Sanders, confirmed that Trump sent a letter to Kim. "There is a correspondence between the two," he told reporters. Neither Kcna nor Ms Sanders revealed the contents of the letter.
South Korea, working as a mediator between Washington and Pyongyang, expresses satisfaction with the new developments. The presidential office in Seoul declares that the exchange of letters between the leaders of North Korea and the United States contributes to making the general dialogue process more transparent. Ko Min-jung, a spokeswoman for Cheong Wa Dae (the Blue House), said in a statement that "the government assesses the exchange of personal letters between the leaders of the North and the U.S. positively in terms of maintaining the momentum of their dialogue" . Last week, Kim's summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping further raised hopes of a return to the negotiating tables after a long pause. On June 20, during the meeting in Pyongyang, Kim said he would "patiently" resolve the issue of the Korean peninsula, while Xi promised to help address northern security problems.