【By Observer Net, Chen Sijia】US President Trump is expected to arrive in South Korea on October 29 to meet with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting. According to Reuters, on the 28th, Trump hopes to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during this Asian trip, but as of now, North Korea has not responded at all.

On the "Air Force One" on the 27th, Trump told the media: "My relationship with Kim Jong-un is very good. If he wants to, if he can receive this message, I would like to meet him. We haven't said anything, but he knows I will go over. If he wants to meet, I am very willing to see him."

Trump used sanctions as a "bargaining chip" for dialogue with North Korea. When asked what issues the US could discuss with North Korea during the meeting, Trump said: "We have sanctions. This is important enough to open up the conversation."

On October 27, US President Trump flew to Japan on "Air Force One" IC photo

In June 2018, Trump and Kim Jong-un held their first meeting in Singapore, discussing the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and easing tensions between the two sides. In February 2019, they held their second meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam. On June 30, 2019, Trump met with Kim Jong-un at the Panmunjom, then crossed the military demarcation line, becoming the first sitting US president to set foot on North Korean territory since the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement.

Despite Trump's repeated expressions of his desire to meet with Kim Jong-un during his visit to South Korea, North Korea has not responded at all.

American cable news network CNN reported on the 18th, citing sources, that US government officials had privately discussed the possibility of holding a "Kim-Trump summit." However, US officials have not yet started any substantial logistical planning for such meetings, and there has been no communication between the US and North Korea as in Trump's first term.

Two sources told CNN that earlier this year, Trump made his first attempt to contact Kim Jong-un, but failed to get a response because North Korea refused to accept the letters.

According to a report by KCNA in September, Kim Jong-un, General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and Chairman of the State Affairs Commission, said in a speech that if the United States abandoned its obsession with the denuclearization of North Korea and recognized reality, the DPRK would have no reason not to communicate face-to-face with the United States. He also mentioned that he himself still has "good memories" of Trump. But he also clearly stated that North Korea would never give up its nuclear weapons.

Reuters said that since South Korean President Lee Jae-myung took office in June, he has been seeking to ease the tension with North Korea. He once proposed using Trump's visit to South Korea as an opportunity to contact Kim Jong-un.

South Korean National Security Office Third Deputy Director Oh Hyun-joo said on the 27th that although there are outside speculations about a possible meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un during the APEC summit, she believes the likelihood of a meeting between the two sides is low.

However, Oh Hyun-joo added that considering the preparation work for the inter-Korean summit in June 2019 only took 30 hours, if both sides arranged a summit at short notice, South Korea could also complete the preparations. When asked whether this statement meant that the South Korean government was preparing for the possibility of President Lee Jae-myung participating in the inter-Korean summit, she replied that Lee Jae-myung did not think that South Korea must participate in the inter-Korean summit.

This article is exclusive to Observer Net. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7566255064394809906/

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