US President Donald Trump on Saturday claimed that North Korea leader Kim Jong-un has issued a 'small apology' for recently testing short-range missiles.
He also said that Kim has written a "long letter" and has expressed his wish to renew negotiations as soon as the US and South Korea joint exercise is concluded.
"In a letter to me sent by Kim Jong Un, he stated, very nicely, that he would like to meet and start negotiations as soon as the joint U.S./South Korea joint exercise are over. It was a long letter, much of it complaining about the ridiculous and expensive exercises," said Trump in a tweet.
"It was also a small apology for testing the short-range missiles, and that this testing would stop when the exercises end. I look forward to seeing Kim Jong Un in the not too distant future! A nuclear-free North Korea will lead to one of the most successful countries in the world!", he added.
North Korea has conducted multiple short-range missile tests in less than two weeks. However, the Trump administration has repeatedly downplayed the significance of these tests, pointing out that the missiles are short-ranged, and, therefore, were not in violation of the agreement between Trump and Kim.
Korean Central News Agency had reported last week that Kim watched the demonstration launch of a new type of tactical guided missiles in the wee hours of Tuesday, sending an adequate warning to the US-South Korea joint military drill underway
Denuclearisation negotiations between the US and North Korea have been stalled since the second summit between Trump and Kim ended without reaching an agreement in February in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi.
At the end of June, Trump and Kim met at the inter-Korean border, and the two leaders agreed to set up teams to resume working-level negotiations in weeks, but to no avail.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday said he was hopeful that Washington and Pyongyang would get back to the negotiating table in the coming weeks.
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