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Trump letter to Kim Jong Un handed to North Korea foreign minister at ASEAN meeting

Posted at 10:45 AM, Aug 04, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-04 10:45:08-04

A letter from US President Donald Trump to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was given Saturday to North Korea’s foreign minister at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted.

Trump’s letter comes in response to a letter he received this week from Kim, according to State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert. The letter from the President was delivered to North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho after Pompeo shook hands and spoke with Ri at the ASEAN meeting in Singapore, Nauert said.

US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim handed the Trump letter to Ri, and Ri thanked him, Nauert said. Sung Kim was previously an ambassador to South Korea and a special representative for North Korea policy.

While attending the ASEAN meeting Saturday, Pompeo and Ri approached each other and Pompeo told Ri they should talk again soon, according to an account from Nauert. She said Ri replied, “There are many productive conversations to be had.”

Asked what the handshake between the two diplomats might represent, Nauert said, “Anytime you have conversations or interactions like that, especially given where our two countries were one year ago is a step in the right direction.”

Trump revealed Thursday he had received a letter from Kim Jong Un when the US President tweeted his thanks to Kim after the possible remains of American war dead from the Korean Wararrived back on US soil. The White House confirmed that Trump had received the letter Wednesday from North Korea’s leader.