White House: Trump Still Open to Dialogue With North Korea on Denuclearization

The White House has stated that dialogue with North Korea for denuclearization remains open. Although Kim Yo-jong, Deputy Director of the North Korean Workers' Party, said that negotiations between North Korea and the United States for denuclearization are impossible, the United States has left the possibility open.

According to Reuters, a White House official said on July 28 (local time) that President Trump remains open to communicating with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in order to completely end North Korea's nuclear program.

Previously, Deputy Director Kim, in a statement titled "Contact between North Korea and the United States is only America's 'hope'," said, "I do not wish to deny the fact that the personal relationship between our head of state and the current U.S. president is not bad." However, she maintained North Korea's existing position that it would not engage in negotiations with the United States aimed at denuclearization. She also emphasized North Korea's status as a nuclear-armed state and stated that the United States must recognize the changed circumstances.

She stated, "At the very least, there should be enough judgment to recognize that it is never beneficial for two nuclear-armed states to move in a confrontational direction. If so, it would be better to seek other avenues of contact based on such new thinking." This is interpreted as suggesting that while negotiations on denuclearization are impossible, dialogue for other purposes may be possible.

The Trump administration is aiming for the complete denuclearization of North Korea. President Trump has expressed his willingness to pursue diplomacy with North Korea, including holding summit meetings, to achieve this goal. During his first term, President Trump met with North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un three times: at a summit in Singapore in June 2018, in Hanoi, Vietnam in February 2019, and at Panmunjom in June 2019.

A White House official also stated on July 25 that the door remains open for dialogue with North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un for the "complete denuclearization" of North Korea.