Trump raises possibility of becoming friends with Kim Jong Un

U.S. President Donald Trump, who is on his Asia tour, twitted on Sunday (local time) saying, “Why would Kim Jong-un insult me by calling me ‘old,’ when I would NEVER call him ‘short and fat?’” “Oh well, I try so hard be his friend – and maybe someday that will happen!” he added. Despite all the sarcasm, it is assessed that Mr. Trump expressed his willingness to open a possibility for a dialogue.

“President Xi of China has stated that he is upping the sanctions against N. Korea. Said he wants them to denuclearize. Progress is being made,” twitted President Trump. “I want to solve North Korea, and Russia can greatly help!” Kremlin stated that even through U.S. President Donald Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the APEC summit on Saturday, they did not engage in an in-depth conversation about the North Korea issue.

It has been identified that a channel for N. Korea–U.S. dialogue has not been operated yet. A source from the U.S. Department of State stated during an interview with The Dong-A Ilbo that Washington has been sending emails and making phone calls to N. Korea through a New York channel, which is the only channel for dialogues, but we have not heard back from the North.

Jeong-Hun Park sunshade@donga.com