New York, Oct 18 (IANS) South Korea’s top envoy to the United States said that there is no indication yet that U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will meet on the occasion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit set to open in Korea later this month.

Ambassador Kang Kyung-wha made the remarks during a parliamentary audit at the South Korean mission to the U.N. in New York, amid lingering speculation that Trump could seek reengagement with Kim when he visits Korea for the APEC gathering slated to take place in the southeastern city of Gyeongju on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, reports Yonhap news agency.

“President Trump has said he is open to dialogue, and North Korea has also shown an indication (leaning toward dialogue). But there is no sign yet that something will materialise on the occasion of the APEC (summit),” Kang said during the audit session of the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee.

“But we are trying to follow up on the (related) developments while leaving open that possibility (of the Trump-Kim meeting),” she added.

Last month, the White House said that Trump remains open to talking to Kim “without any preconditions” — a comment that reinforced the speculation that Trump could try to resume his personal diplomacy with Kim during his upcoming visit to Korea.

Kim has also expressed openness to resuming talks with the U.S. if Washington drops its demand for the North’s denuclearisation.

During his first term, Trump’s personal diplomacy with the North Korean leader led to three in-person meetings between them — in Singapore in June 2018, in Hanoi in February 2019 and at the inter-Korean border truce village of Panmunjom in June 2019.

Asked if Kim wants to get U.S. recognition of its nuclear arms should he agree to meet Trump, the ambassador refused to make any prejudgment.

“As for the U.S., it has repeatedly expressed its position to resume dialogue without conditions,” she said.

Commenting on the possibility of a summit between South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Trump during the APEC gathering, Kang said, “I understand that final-stage coordination is taking place to ensure that the summit can take place.”

At the start of the audit, Kang reiterated Seoul’s policy commitment to reducing tensions and promoting peace on the Korean Peninsula through dialogue with North Korea, vowing to reinforce cooperation with Washington in the efforts.

Her remarks came as Seoul hopes to resume inter-Korean engagement despite Pyongyang’s rejection of dialogue and its continued push to advance nuclear and missile programs.

“While actively pushing to address Korean Peninsula issues through dialogue with North Korea, (we) will also make parallel efforts to elicit Pyongyang’s earnest response,” Kang said.

—IANS

na/