Expecting 'positive' letter from Kim, says Trump

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he was expecting a “positive” personal letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, as Washington and Pyongyang continued efforts to revive stalled negotiations over North Korea's denuclearisation.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said a letter from Kim had been handed over at the inter-Korean border the previous day and was being delivered to him.

“I know that a letter is being delivered to me, a personal letter from Kim Jong Un to me,” Trump said, adding that he expected it to be positive. He also suggested that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo might deliver the letter.

The development comes as negotiations between the US and North Korea have reached an impasse following the historic Trump-Kim summit in Singapore in June. At that meeting, the two leaders agreed to work towards improving bilateral relations and establishing a lasting peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.

However, subsequent talks have been complicated by differences over the pace and scope of North Korea's denuclearisation, the continuation of US sanctions and Pyongyang's demand for a formal declaration ending the Korean War.

North Korea has repeatedly called for progress on reducing tensions and providing security guarantees, while Washington has insisted on concrete steps towards the complete and verifiable dismantling of Pyongyang's nuclear programme.

Kim recently told a South Korean delegation that he remained firmly committed to removing the threat of armed conflict and the horrors of war from the Korean Peninsula. He also expressed support for turning the peninsula into a peaceful region free of nuclear weapons and nuclear threats.

Trump responded by thanking Kim for the statement and saying that the two sides would achieve their goal together.

Meanwhile, the US State Department announced that Stephen Biegun, the US special representative for North Korea, would travel to South Korea, China and Japan from September 10 to 15 for discussions on denuclearisation.

According to the State Department, Biegun was scheduled to meet his counterparts and continue diplomatic efforts aimed at achieving the “final, fully verified denuclearization” of North Korea, in line with the understanding reached by Trump and Kim at the Singapore summit.

The expected letter could therefore provide an indication of whether Washington and Pyongyang are ready to restart substantive negotiations, although major disagreements over denuclearisation and sanctions remain unresolved.