South Korean Intelligence: DPRK prepares for Trump meeting
5 November 11:17
North Korea is preparing for a possible meeting between dictator Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump, as the idea emerged during the White House’s recent visit to Asia.
This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to Bloomberg.
According to South Korean intelligence, Pyongyang has begun collecting information on U.S. officials involved in North Korea.
Also, DPRK Foreign Minister Choe Song-hui raised the question of whether to continue the planned visit to Russia after Trump announced his readiness to meet with Kim.
Bloomberg recalled that Trump last met with the North Korean leader in 2019. During his last trip to Asia, he reiterated that he was ready for talks, but the meeting did not take place due to his busy schedule.
Meanwhile, intelligence experts believe that Kim is seeking to rethink diplomacy and legitimize his nuclear arsenal, using strengthening ties with Russia and China as a lever to improve relations with Washington.
At the same time, the DPRK leader insists that the United States and South Korea should abandon the denuclearization demand as a condition for negotiations.
“Previous summits between Trump and Kim failed to convince Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear ambitions. Since then, North Korea has expanded its weapons programs and become a key ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, supporting Moscow’s war against Ukraine,” the article says.
Commenting on the military cooperation between the DPRK and Russia, the intelligence agency emphasized that North Korea will need a lot of time to achieve full operational readiness of its hypersonic missiles, satellites, surveillance and destroyers. The development of underwater weapons systems also remains slow.
In August, the US president announced his intention to hold talks with DPRK dictator Kim Jong-un. The two leaders have already met three times in 2018 and 2019 to discuss North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, which are under UN sanctions.
