Trump says there was ‘very positive’ correspondence recently with N. Korea
Trump's remark comes after he and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un heldan impromptu meeting at the inter-Korean border on June 30 and agreed to resumeworking-level talks on the denuclearization of the regime.
Asked by reporters if the talks have been scheduled, Trump said,«No, we just have a very good relationship and probably they would like tomeet.»
The negotiations had been expected to resume in mid-July, but the NorthKoreans have reportedly been silent on a U.S. offer for talks.
«We'llsee what happens,» Trump said at the start of a meeting with Pakistan'sprime minister at the White House. «There was a little correspondencerecently, very positive correspondence with North Korea. Again, there's nonuclear testing, there's no missile testing, there's no nothing. I think wewill, yeah, at a certain point, when they're ready we'll be meeting.»
North Korea warned last week that the talks' resumption would beaffected by whether South Korea and the U.S. go ahead with joint militaryexercises planned for next month.
The communist regime denounces the exercises as a rehearsal forinvasion.
Trump did not respond to a question about whether the correspondence wasbetween him and Kim.
The two men have exchanged a number of personal letters since last year,when they held their historic first summit in Singapore in June.
A second summit in Vietnam in February ended without a deal due todifferences over the scope of North Korea's denuclearization and sanctionsrelief from the U.S.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in an interview with Fox NewsMonday that he hopes the North Koreans «take a position that'sdifferent» when they return to the negotiating table.
In an interview with CBS, he also said he hopes the talks will begin«soon» and added they are «aimed squarely at denuclearizingNorth Korea in a way that presents a lot less risk for the entire world.»
Trump spoke to a Washington Post report alleging that Chinese telecomgiant Huawei helped build and maintain North Korea's commercial wirelessnetwork.
He said he knows «all about» the Chinese company, which hasbeen blacklisted by the U.S. on national security concerns.
«We'll have to find out,» Trump said. «Our relationshipwith North Korea has been very good. We've really established a goodrelationship with Kim Jong-un.»
The Post reported that the alleged ties between Huawei and North Korearaised questions about the Chinese firm's possible violation of U.S. exportcontrols to furnish equipment to North Korea.
Huawei has used American technology in its components, it said.
The telecom titan has been at the center of an ongoing trade row betweenWashington and Beijing.
The Trump administration has urged its allies and partner nations tostop the use of Huawei products due to what it sees as a security risk to their5G wireless networks.
The U.S. has also indicated it could stop sharing intelligence withcountries that continue to use the products.