President Donald Trump has said Kim Jong-un apologized to him for testing short range missiles in a long letter that he had earlier described as ‘beautiful’.
In Saturday morning tweets, Trump revealed more details of the three-page communication from the North Korean leader that he initially shared details of on Friday.
Trump claimed that the dictator was penned his expressions ‘very nicely’ and talked about plans for the two to connect in-person just as soon as the US/South Korea joint exercise that he condemns comes to an end.
‘In a letter to me sent by Kim Jong Un, he stated, very nicely, that he would like to meet and start negotiations as soon as the joint US/South Korea joint exercise are over,’ Trump posted on Twitter. ‘It was a long letter, much of it complaining about the ridiculous and expensive exercises.’
Trump says Kim Jong Un ‘stated, very nicely, that he would like to meet and start negotiations as soon as the joint US/South Korea joint exercise are over’
POTUS tweeted Saturday: ‘It was a long letter, much of it complaining about the ridiculous and expensive exercises’
Trump added Kim Jong Un’s letter was ‘also a small apology for testing the short range missiles, and that this testing would stop when the exercises end’
POTUS continued claiming that Jong-un said his war games, that stop just short of a promise not to conduct long-range ballistic missile tests, would halt.
Three North Korean missile tests were carried out within eight days of each other, starting on July 25, in what Kim Jong-un said was a ‘solemn warning’ to South Korea and America.
South Korea and the US began a joint military drill on Monday despite threats of ‘consequences’ from the North.
Neither side has said what the drill will involve or given it a code-name, but it is believed to be a slimmed-down version of the annual Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise which in the past has included thousands of US troops.
Jong-un said they will stop testing after the US/South Korea exercises stop, according to Trump.
The 45th president added that he was excited about the future of North Korea based on the letter.
This early August 6 picture released from North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows the launch of an alleged new-type of tactical guided missiles from an undisclosed western part location of the country
‘It was also a small apology for testing the short range missiles,’ Trump tweeted. ‘And that this testing would stop when the exercises end. I look forward to seeing Kim Jong-un in the not too distant future! A nuclear free North Korea will lead to one of the most successful countries in the world!’
Trump said Friday that the letter was hand-delivered straight from the hermetic regime to his office, calling it ‘personal’ and ‘very positive’.
‘He really wrote a beautiful three-page – I mean right from top to bottom – a really beautiful letter,’ Trump said.
‘It wasn’t touched by anybody. They literally take it from North Korea to my office. We have a system.’
He also minimized Kim’s short-range tests, which appear to violate UN resolutions.
‘The missile tests have all been short-range,’ Trump said.
Trump added he looks forward to seeing Jong Un ‘in the not too distant future’. Pictured, they meet at the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, in Panmunjom, South Korea, June 30
But North Korean state media released an image of Kim this week watching the latest missile launch. Kim is quoted saying the launch is ‘an occasion to send an adequate warning to the joint military drill now underway by the US and South Korean authorities.’
North Korea has long viewed the joint military drills as rehearsals for an invasion, and cancelling them was one of Kim’s first demands when he met with Donald Trump in Singapore in June 2018.
However, as nuclear talks have floundered the drills have been restarted. Kim’s regime has warned that the exercises could endanger the future of negotiations.
South Korean defense minister Jeong Kyeong-doo told parliament that Seoul was ‘clearly maintaining its readiness posture against any military action by North Korea’.
An early August 6 picture released from North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on August 7 showed the launch of an alleged new-type of tactical guided missiles from an undisclosed western part location of the country.
North Korea fired two ‘unidentified projectiles’ on August 10 into the sea, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported, citing the country’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, the latest in a series of such launches by Pyongyang.
The South Korean military said the projectiles were fired from near the northeastern city of Hamhung into the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan.
‘The military is monitoring the situation in case of additional launches while maintaining a readiness posture,’ the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, according to Yonhap.