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North Korean diplomats reject Trump's latest 'love letter' to Kim

Published: 11 Jun. 2025, 21:53

U.S. President Donald Trump, right, meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Sentosa Island, in Singapore, June 12, 2018. [AP/YONHAP]

U.S. President Donald Trump wrote a letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in an effort to revive diplomatic engagement, but Pyongyang diplomats have refused to accept it, NK News reported Wednesday.

Citing a source familiar with the matter, the outlet said Trump composed the letter with the intention of reopening dialogue with Kim, with whom he held three high-profile meetings during his first term.

Despite multiple attempts to hand-deliver the letter through North Korea’s delegation to the United Nations in New York — commonly referred to as the “New York Channel” — North Korean diplomats “bluntly” rejected the delivery, the source said.

The U.S. State Department declined to comment, stating that it did not comment on potential diplomatic communications. The White House also did not give a response to NK News.

The refusal aligns with assessments by South Korean officials that there has been no substantive communication between Washington and Pyongyang since the launch of the second Trump administration.

“It appears that there has been no contact between North Korea and the United States since the start of Trump’s second term,” a South Korean diplomatic source told the JoongAng Ilbo.

If Trump indeed prepared a letter for Kim, analysts suggest it likely resulted from back-channel efforts led by a small group of senior White House officials rather than an official diplomatic initiative.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, right, and U.S. President Donald Trump shake hands at the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone on June 30, 2019. [AP/YONHAP]

Some observers believe North Korea’s refusal to accept the letter may reflect a strategic move by Pyongyang to raise the stakes ahead of any possible return to talks. The North appears to be insisting on being recognized as a nuclear-weapon state as a precondition for renewed dialogue.

Still, continued U.S. outreach could mean that if Kim chooses to reengage, talks could resume at short notice, according to diplomatic analysts.

Since taking office on Jan. 20, Trump has taken a conciliatory tone toward North Korea. On his Inauguration Day, he referred to the regime as a “nuclear power,” and three days later he signaled his willingness to contact Kim.

Analysts believe Trump may be seeking foreign policy achievements amid limited progress on other international fronts, including the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

During his first term, Trump held three landmark meetings with Kim: the June 2018 summit in Singapore, the February 2019 meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam and an impromptu meeting at the inter-Korean border in June 2019.

By the end of his first term, the two leaders had exchanged 27 personal letters, which Trump famously described as “love letters.”

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY PARK HYUN-JU, CHUNG YEONG-GYO [[email protected]]