Seoul (AFP) - Seoul has suggested the possibility of holding a meeting between Pyongyang and Washington, in light of the emergence of indications of dialogue between the two sides, according to what a South Korean lawmaker said Tuesday, citing estimates from his country's intelligence service.
Published on: 09/01/2026 - 10:33
US President Donald Trump had previously raised the idea of holding a new meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, but Pyongyang remained silent about it, while analysts doubted the imminent launch of talks between the two parties.
“With regard to the summit between North Korea and the United States, the possibility of holding it was assessed as possible at any time,” South Korean lawmaker Yoon Kun-young told reporters, citing a briefing provided by the National Intelligence Agency.
He added that the analysis did not include “any facts about concrete contacts between the two sides, but there are indications that there is an ongoing dialogue.”
In August, Trump provided an official estimate of Pyongyang's nuclear arsenal, noting that it possesses 57 nuclear warheads.
Since then, Pyongyang has confirmed that Kim has "good memories and feelings" toward Trump, and that the relationship between them remains "excellent," but it has not responded clearly to the US President's invitation to hold a meeting with the Korean leader.
The US President's statements about the possibility of holding the meeting coincided with Washington's decision to reduce the scope and duration of joint military exercises with Seoul during August, which raised concerns among US allies in Asia and fueled speculation that Trump is seeking to achieve a foreign policy achievement at a time when his war with Iran is faltering.
"No strong motives"
Hours after the US President announced in August that he would meet Kim later this year, North Korea launched more than a dozen short-range ballistic missiles from the Pyongyang area towards the Sea of Japan.
Later, Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of the North Korean leader, said that Trump's decision to reduce the exercises with South Korea represented a "fair punishment" for Seoul.
Also, naval exercises scheduled to begin on September 7 between the United States, South Korea, and Japan sparked an angry reaction from Pyongyang.
Yang Moo-jin, former president of the University of North Korean Studies, suggested that Pyongyang does not have strong motives to enter into talks with Washington.
He said, "From North Korea's point of view, as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Russian-Ukrainian war and the deepening confrontation between South Korea, the United States and Japan on the one hand, and North Korea, China and Russia on the other hand, the incentives for dialogue appear limited."
Trump and Kim met three times during the US president's first term, and he once described their relationship as having reached the point that they had become "in love."
Trump also broke with decades of US policy when he said in October 2025 that North Korea had become "kind of a nuclear power."
China is a major trading partner of North Korea, and also provides it with important diplomatic and economic support despite the international sanctions imposed on it.
Since taking office in June 2025, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has pursued a policy of openness towards the North, in contrast to the approach of his conservative predecessor, Yoon Suk-yul. But Pyongyang rejected his overtures, calling Seoul the "most aggressive enemy" and declaring itself a nuclear state.
© 2026 AFP
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