NEW YORK – U.S. President Donald Trump received a letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Wednesday to follow up on their recent talks about denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the White House said Thursday.
“The ongoing correspondence between the two leaders is aimed at following up on their meeting in Singapore and advancing the commitments made in the U.S.-DPRK joint statement,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.
DPRK is the acronym for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea’s formal name.
Trump tweeted about the letter earlier in the day when he said he looks forward to seeing Kim “soon” and thanked him for returning some of the remains of American troops who died in the 1950-1953 Korean War.
“Thank you to Chairman Kim Jong Un for keeping your word & starting the process of sending home the remains of our great and beloved missing fallen! I am not at all surprised that you took this kind action,” he said. “Also, thank you for your nice letter — I look forward to seeing you soon!”
Kim is chairman of the North’s Workers’ Party of Korea.
Sanders later told reporters that although Trump received a letter from Kim and responded to it, “there is not a second meeting that is currently locked in or finalized.”
She said the United States will continue discussions with North Korea toward denuclearization of the country. “The president won’t be completely satisfied until all of Korea has been denuclearized,” she added.
Trump met Kim for their historic summit on June 12 in Singapore, where the North’s leader committed to “complete” denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
The president tweeted amid speculation that U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo may interact with North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum, a 27-member security meeting slated for Saturday in Singapore.
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