Trump Keen On North Korea Talks, Seoul Says Dialogue With Pyongyang Possible

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said Friday that US President Donald Trump is clearly interested in resuming dialogue with North Korea.

While stressing that Seoul will not send troops or military assets to take part in the ongoing war between Israel, the United States and Iran.

Trump has expressed interest in rebuilding the relationship he established with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during his first presidency. Last month, he said he hoped to meet Kim again later this year.

Trump also said that maintaining a relationship with Kim was important and claimed that North Korea now possesses 57 “very powerful” nuclear weapons. South Korean estimates put the number at between 80 and 120.

Pyongyang, which has strengthened its ties with Russia in recent years, has not given a clear response to Trump’s latest overtures.

Lee said there was little doubt that Trump wanted talks with North Korea and that he was encouraging the US president to pursue direct engagement with Pyongyang.

South Korea is continuing “preliminary coordination efforts” aimed at creating conditions for talks between Washington and Pyongyang, Lee told reporters at the presidential Blue House.

He acknowledged that arranging a meeting would be difficult but said it was not impossible.

“I cannot say for certain how likely it is, but it is also clear that we must make every possible effort to turn that possibility into reality,” Lee said.

His comments came shortly after Kim Yo Jong, the North Korean leader’s powerful sister, accused Washington of worsening regional tensions through repeated military exercises. She also warned that Pyongyang could respond in a more offensive manner.

A day earlier, Kim Yo Jong dismissed the idea that North Korea would abandon its nuclear weapons, saying only “idiots” would believe otherwise.

South Korea and the United States conducted a scaled-down version of their annual Ulchi Freedom Shield military exercises last month after Trump ordered a reduction in their scope.

Seoul Rules Out Military Role In Iran War

Lee also ruled out any deployment of South Korean troops or military assets to intervene in the conflict involving Iran.

“There will be no involvement or intervention in the war. We will not deploy troops or military assets in that manner,” Lee said.

His remarks followed reports that Seoul was considering whether to deploy forces to the Strait of Hormuz, a strategically important waterway affected by the conflict.

Lee said South Korea would instead undertake only the minimum activities necessary to protect its merchant vessels and secure oil shipping routes.

He reiterated that Seoul’s policy of non-involvement and non-intervention would remain unchanged.

“We have upheld the principle of non-involvement and non-intervention in the war until now,” Lee said. “And we will continue to uphold it going forward.”

Trump has previously criticized South Korea and other US allies for providing what he considers insufficient assistance to Washington.

In an interview with Fox News last month, Trump said the United States had received “very little help” from other countries and specifically mentioned South Korea.

The United States maintains roughly 28,500 troops in South Korea as part of its longstanding defence commitment to Seoul, a military presence dating back to the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended with an armistice rather than a formal peace treaty.

Trump’s repeated criticism of traditional US alliances has nevertheless raised questions about the future of Washington’s security commitments in East Asia.