North Korea's Kim says he still trusts Trump, restates pledge to denuclearize

TOKYO — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told a team of South Korean envoys that he continues to trust President Trump despite a breakdown in negotiations between the two countries, and repeated his commitment to work toward the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the chief envoy said on Thursday.

But North Korea media also repeated the country’s demand that the United States make the next move by formally declaring an end to the Korean War, which concluded in 1953 with an armistice but not a peace treaty.

That’s something it says Trump promised when he met Kim in Singapore in June — but it is a move that Washington is reluctant to make, fearing it could ultimately throw into question the continued presence of its troops in South Korea. 

Judging by the photos, the mood was warm when the South Korean envoys met Kim in Pyongyang on Wednesday. But if the atmospherics were good, the impasse between Washington and Pyongyang continues, despite South Korea’s attempts to mediate.

The South Korean envoys delivered a letter from President Moon Jae-in, and a message from Trump, who had spoken to Moon by telephone earlier in the week.

The two sides agreed that a planned summit between the leaders of both Koreas would take place in Pyongyang from Sept. 18-20, and they pledged to open a joint liaison office in the North ahead of time.

Moon said the envoys’ trip had turned out “really well,” and they had brought back better achievements than he expected. 

“I have big expectations for the upcoming inter-Korean summit,” he told officials Thursday, according to the presidential Blue House. “I also have expectations for complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and for talks between North Korea and the United States to be accelerated as well.”

In Wednesday’s meeting, North Korea’s Kim expressed frustration with skepticism among some parts of the international community about his commitment to denuclearize, according to Chung Eui-yong, South Korea’s Director of National Security and the leader of the team of envoys.

The North Korean leader also pointed to the dismantling of the Punggye-ri nuclear test site and Dongchang-ri missile launch facility as evidence of his commitment to end nuclear testing permanently, Chung said. And he asked for a message to be delivered to Trump. 

“I can’t release it here, but Kim said he wants conditions to be created that will make him feel right about his decision to denuclearize,” Chung said.  

That message will very probably contain an appeal for the United States to formally declare an end to the war, something North Korea says is vital to building trust and ending decades of hostility. Kim said such a declaration would not imply a withdrawal of U.S. troops or a weakening of the U.S.-South Korean military alliance, Chung added.

“Chairman Kim said that although the dialogue between the U.S. and North Korea is experiencing some difficulties, his trust in President Trump continues, especially at times like this,” Chung told a news conference the day after his return.

“Chairman Kim also emphasized he has never spoken ill of Trump to his aides or anyone really. He also said, on the basis of such trust, he hopes to end 70 years of hostile relations with the United States, improve the bilateral relationship and fulfill denuclearization.”

On Thursday, a column in North Korea’s Rodong Sinmun newspaper said the Trump administration must discard its “stubborn” stance that the North must denuclearize first before the United States agrees to a peace treaty.

It said North Korea had shown “goodwill and generosity” through actions such as returning the remains of some U.S. servicemen who died in the war and dismantling the nuclear test site at Punggye-ri, but that the United States had failed to respond with corresponding measures to improve relations.

But Shin Beom-chul, a North Korea specialist at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul, said this was a one-sided reading of the situation: the dismantling of the nuclear and missile test sites were unilateral moves not previously discussed with the United States, he pointed out, and had not been subject to external verification.

North Korea’s assertion that the United States had not reciprocated also ignored Trump’s announcement of a suspension of some military exercises with South Korea, Shin added.

Still, there is some hope that South Korean leader Moon will be able to break the deadlock as he tries to mediate between the two sides, pushing for a deal where both Washington and Pyongyang move simultaneously or at least in short succession in a coordinated way, diplomats say.

The summit later this month will be the third meeting between leaders of the two Koreas this year, as Moon makes a major effort to improve relations with the North in the hope this will persuade Kim to scale back or abandon his nuclear arsenal. 

It will discuss the implementation of a joint declaration reached by Moon and Kim when they met in the border village of Panmunjom in April, and will also focus on issues relating to “the permanent settlement of peace and common prosperity on the Korean Peninsula” and “practical measures to realize denuclearization on the peninsula,” Chung said.

“Second, Chairman Kim Jong Un reconfirmed his determination to completely denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and expressed his willingness for close cooperation not only with the South but also with the United States in that regard,” Chung said.

Harry Kazianis, director of Defense Studies at the Center for the National Interest in Washington, said he felt the envoys’ visit could not have gone any better, with agreement to hold a three-day summit, and with Kim restating his commitment to denuclearize and confidence in Trump.

“All of that will go a long way in alleviating the Trump administration’s fears that we could be sliding back toward a crisis,” he said, adding the inter-Korean talks could set the stage for a resumption of dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington.

“In fact, I would not rule out a Peace Declaration being signed by all parties this year,” he added. “If Trump wants a legacy building moment abroad, especially at a time when his administration has problems back home, ending the Korean War could be it.” 

North and South Korea had agreed to set up the joint liaison office when Moon met Kim in April. 

The office will be established in the city of Kaesong in North Korea with resident representatives from both sides, “to facilitate close consultation between the authorities as well as smooth exchanges and cooperation between the people,” according to the declaration issued at the end of that April summit. 

Kaesong is also the site of an industrial complex jointly developed by both Koreas but largely financed by the South. It was launched in 2004 during a previous bid to improve relations with the North and enabled South Korean companies to manufacture products using cheaper North Korean labor. But Seoul suspended operations there in 2016 following the launch of a long-range rocket and Pyongyang’s fourth nuclear test.

Min Joo Kim in Seoul reported from Seoul.

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