President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he had received a letter from Kim Jong Un and expected to meet with the North Korean leader soon as part of his administration's ongoing efforts to press Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons program.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump defended his negotiations with Kim and said he had never emphasized the speed of Pyongyang's efforts. Kim had vowed to work toward denuclearization after he met with Trump at a summit in Singapore in June, although both sides have struggled to make progress since then.
On Tuesday, Kim said in a nationally televised address that he was ready to meet again with Trump anytime but warned that he may take a new path if U.S. sanctions and pressure against the country continued.
A day earlier, South Korea's Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported that Kim had sent a message to Trump regarding the stalled nuclear talks. The report did not include details about the "letter-like" communication.
Trump told reporters on Wednesday that the letter was "great" but gave no other details.
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