President Trump said Friday letter is on the way from North Korea leader Kim Jong-un and that he expects it will be a “positive letter.”
“I know that a letter is being delivered to me, a personal letter from Kim Jong-un to me, that was handed at the border, I don’t know if you know that,” Mr. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
“It was handed at the border yesterday,” he continued. “It’s an elegant way, the way it used to be many years ago before we had all the of new contraptions that we all use.
“I think it is going to be a positive letter,” he said. “We have to start that process.”
Progress toward denucleariation of the Korean peninsula appeared to stall in recent weeks following high expectations from Mr. Trump’s June summit with Mr. Kim in Singapore.
Mr. Kim committed to denuclearization at the summit and there were early signs of progress in thawing the 65-year-old standoff, including North Korea releasing three U.S. citizens held in prison camps and returning the remains of 55 U.S. soldiers killed in the Korean War.
Last month, however, Mr. Trump cancelled a planned visit by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Pyongyang for continued talks, citing insufficient progress.
Mr. Kim reiterated his commitment to denuclearization this week at a meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
Mr. Trump said there was still reason to be optimistic.
“We have our hostages back,” the president said. “I say it a hundred times, no missiles, no rockets, no nuclear testing. There’s been some rhetoric, let’s see what happens.”
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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