White House Says Donald Trump Open to Dialogue with Kim Jong Un Without Preconditions

Most recently, US President Donald Trump. (Wikimedia Commons/The White House/Daniel Torok)

JAKARTA - The White House on Thursday said US President Donald Trump was open to dialogue with North Korea "without any preconditions" following a statement by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressing Pyongyang's willingness to establish relations with Washington if hostile policies were stopped.

Speaking at a recent congress of the ruling Workers' Party, leader Kim said Pyongyang "has no reason not to get along with the US" if Washington withdraws its hostile policy, noting the prospects for US-North Korean relations "entirely depend on the US attitude," according to North Korean state media.

"President Trump in his first term held three historic summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that stabilized the Korean Peninsula," a White House official said in response to a request for comment from Yonhap News Agency, launching The Korea Times (27/2).

"US policy towards North Korea has not changed. President Trump remains open to talking to Kim Jong-un without any preconditions," the official added.

Leader Kim has opened the door to a resumption of diplomacy with the US amid speculation President Trump may seek to hold talks with the two leaders when he visits China from late next month to early April.

It is known that President Trump has held three face-to-face meetings with Leader Kim during his first term: the first meeting in Singapore in June 2018, the second in Hanoi in February 2019, and the third in the inter-Korean border area of Panmunjom in June 2019.