Kim Jong-un enjoys 'great' Trump letter and says he 'believes in' US president ahead of second summit

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

North Korea‘s leader has expressed “large satisfaction” at receiving a “great” letter from Donald Trump, state media has said.

Kim Jong-un has ordered preparations for a second summit with the US president, saying he will “wait with patience and in good faith” to work towards a common goal.

He said he would trust President Trump’s approach, according to the North’s official KCNA agency.

“Kim Jong-un said that we will believe in President Trump’s positive way of thinking, wait with patience and in good faith and, together with the US, advance step by step toward the goal to be reached by the two countries,” KCNA said.

It comes weeks after Mr Kim warned the North could seek a “new path” if US sanctions and pressures continued.

The White House said last week a second summit between the two leaders would be held in late February, but it did not say where.

On Thursday, Mr Trump said in a series of tweets: “The Fake News Media loves saying ‘so little happened at my first summit with Kim Jong Un.’ Wrong!

“After 40 years of doing nothing with North Korea but being taken to the cleaners, & with a major war ready to start, in a short 15 months, relationships built, hostages & remains back home where they belong, no more Rockets or M’s being fired over Japan or anywhere else and, most importantly, no Nuclear Testing. This is more than has ever been accomplished with North Korea, and the Fake News knows it. I expect another good meeting soon, much potential!”

Despite Mr Kim’s enthusiasm for another meeting with Mr Trump, the two remain at odds over fundamental issues such as the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

Progress on negotiations has been patchy since their first landmark summit in Singapore last June, which ended with Mr Kim making a vague pledge to denuclearise his government had previously used when it called for the withdrawal of the 28,500 US troops stationed in South Korea.

The strongest step he could promise during a second summit would be abandoning his long-range missle programme, which is capable of targeting the US mainland.

This is unlikely to satisfy South Korea and Japan, which are within striking distance of the North’s short- and medium-ranged missiles.

In return for such gestures, Mr Kim has sought to get UN sanctions on his country lifted.

So far he has suspended nuclear and missile tests, dismantled the country’s nuclear testing site and part of its rocket engine facility, along with releasing American detainees.

However, satellite imagery indicates the North is still running its main nuclear complex, begging the question of why is it is still producing nuclear material if it is truly committed to denuclearisation.

While Mr Trump has said there is “no rush” and “no time limit” on denuclearisation negotiations, his secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, has given varying statements about the extent of Washington’s patience.

After the Singapore summit Mr Pompeo said the US hoped to achieve “major disarmament” by the end of Mr Trump’s current term in office in January 2021. He has subsequently said he would not put a timeline on talks.

“Chairman Kim continues to assure the President of the United States he is intent on denuclearisation and I hope that at the end of February, when the two leaders get together, we can make a substantial step along the way,” Mr Pompeo told Fox News on Wednesday.

Additional reporting by agencies