Letter from North Korean leader comes as talks between the men have stalled

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un invited US president Donald Trump to visit Pyongyang in a letter sent in August, a South Korean newspaper reported on Monday, citing diplomatic sources.

The letter pre-dates North Korea’s latest launch of short-range projectiles a week ago and is the second Trump received from Kim last month amid stalled denuclearisation talks between the two countries,

In the second letter, which was passed to Trump in the third week of August, Kim spoke of his willingness to meet Trump for another summit, one source reportedly told the Joongang Ilbo newspaper.

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The White House, the US State Department and the North Korean mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Trump and Kim have met three times since June last year to discuss ways to resolve a crisis over North Korea’s missile and nuclear programmes, but substantive progress has not been made.

The pair last met at the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) between the two Koreas in June and agreed to restart working-level negotiations that had been stalled since an unsuccessful second summit between the two leaders in Vietnam in February.

Last week’s round of short-range missiles came just hours after vice foreign minister Choe Son Hui said North Korea was willing to have “comprehensive discussions” late this month.

Trump subsequently said he would be willing to meet Kim at some point later this year.

Trump said on 9 August he had received a three-page “very beautiful letter” from Kim and added he could have another meeting with him.