South Korea backs Trump’s push to resume talks with North Korea

South Korea has expressed support for US President Donald Trump’s efforts to resume dialogue with North Korea, while insisting that any new talks focus on making substantive progress on the nuclear issue and maintaining the country’s security readiness.

South Korean National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said on Friday that Seoul would support confidence-building measures and the resumption of talks between Washington and Pyongyang. This comes as Trump renewed his efforts to reach out to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, although Pyongyang has yet to officially show willingness to return to negotiations.

The national security adviser emphasized that resuming dialogue between the United States and North Korea should not come at the expense of South Korea’s security readiness, and that progress on the nuclear issue must be central to the talks.

South Korea’s position comes amid renewed US efforts to revive diplomacy with Pyongyang. On August 19, US officials said Trump was urging his aides to arrange a meeting with Kim Jong Un as soon as possible this fall.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Trump hopes the anticipated meeting will revive the diplomatic efforts he began in his first term to persuade Kim to abandon North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.

US officials said Trump has discussed the possibility of a direct meeting with Kim during his upcoming trip to Asia, which may take place in November to coincide with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen, China.

No formal arrangements for the meeting have begun yet, according to The Wall Street Journal, which noted that Trump’s desire for a high-level summit with Kim signals that the US president is “eager for a major foreign policy achievement” at a time when a breakthrough with Iran remains elusive.

Pyongyang’s stance

North Korea, meanwhile, has not officially expressed willingness to resume talks and has renewed its criticism of the United States.

A spokesperson for North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday: “We have once again, and clearly, recognized the United States’ persistent hostile stance toward the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.”

The statement came in response to the US State Department’s approval of a potential $125 million sale to South Korea, including AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air tactical missiles and related equipment—a deal Pyongyang described as a “new security threat.”

With North Korea possessing dozens of nuclear warheads, most US presidents have refrained from meeting Kim Jong Un without preconditions for such a summit.