President Donald Trump released a letter he received from Kim Jong Un Thursday expressing hope for the future of relations between North Korea and the United States.
A very nice note from Chairman Kim of North Korea. Great progress being made! pic.twitter.com/6NI6AqL0xt
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 12, 2018
The letter from Kim Jong Un is dated July 6, which predates the recent visit of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Pyongyang.
The letter expresses optimism for the next meeting between the two leaders but does not make any mention or commitment to denuclearization. Instead, the letter is peppered with flowery language such as the “start of a meaningful journey” and “improvement of relations.”
Talks with North Korea since the summit between Trump and Kim Jong Un have been fraught with the hermit kingdom refusing to show up for a recent meeting to discuss the repatriation of U.S. service-members remains killed during the Korean War.
Pompeo’s meeting in Pyongyang similarly ended without an intended meeting with Kim Jong Un and an incendiary statement from North Korea accusing the U.S. of acting “gangster-like.”
“The attitude and demands from the U.S. side during the high-level talks were nothing short of deeply regrettable,” North Korea said. Pompeo, however, express optimism, saying, “These are complicated issues, but we made progress on almost all of the central issues.”