Another Trump-Kim meeting is a possibility:White House

The White House on Monday said another meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un remains possible, but stressed that Pyongyang must take concrete steps toward denuclearization if it wants the recent easing of tensions with Washington to continue.

US National Security Advisor John Bolton said the door for another summit was still open, but the next move had to come from North Korea.

“The possibility of another meeting between the two presidents obviously exists,” Bolton said in a speech before the Federalist Society in Washington.

He added that Trump could not force North Korea to accept the opportunity for further talks and that Washington was waiting for Pyongyang to take steps toward dismantling its nuclear capabilities.

Bolton also maintained his earlier assessment that North Korea could potentially dismantle a large part of its ballistic missile and nuclear infrastructure within a year. He explained that his estimate was partly based on comments Kim had made during his April meeting with then-South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

According to Bolton, Kim had indicated that North Korea could denuclearize within two years. When Moon questioned why the process could not be completed within a year, Kim reportedly agreed that it was possible. Bolton said he believed the process could potentially move even faster.

Trump and Kim held their historic first summit in Singapore in June, where they agreed to work toward the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. However, subsequent negotiations have made limited progress, with Washington and Pyongyang disagreeing over the sequence and conditions for dismantling North Korea's nuclear programme.

North Korea has sought greater movement toward a peace agreement with South Korea, arguing that formally ending the technical state of war on the peninsula should accompany its nuclear-related measures. The US, meanwhile, has continued to press Pyongyang for concrete and verifiable steps toward denuclearization.

The diplomatic process faced another setback when Trump cancelled Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's planned visit to Pyongyang, citing insufficient progress in negotiations.

Despite the stalled talks, Trump has continued to maintain a relatively positive tone toward Kim. He said last Friday that he was expecting to receive a letter from the North Korean leader, indicating that communication between the two sides remained open.

Reports in July had suggested that the White House was considering a second Trump-Kim summit in New York in September, potentially on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. However, such a meeting was reportedly dependent on North Korea demonstrating meaningful progress toward denuclearization.

The developments underscored the central challenge facing the negotiations: both sides appeared interested in keeping diplomatic engagement alive, but remained divided over what should come first — security and peace guarantees for North Korea or verifiable steps toward dismantling its nuclear and missile capabilities.