Trump Not Ready to Visit North Korea

Kim invited Trump in August letter, reports say

In comments Monday to reporters, President Trump said that he is “not ready” to visit North Korea to hold direct talks with Kim Jong Un. He declined to elaborate beyond that.

Trump was asked about this because South Korean media reported that in his August letter, Kim had invited Trump to visit Pyongyang, which would’ve potentially been a chance to get the denuclearization talks restarted.

Even though Trump and Kim had once said they were willing to visit one anothers’ countries, Pyongyang apparently is not where the next stage is happening. While the US has said they are very interested in more talks, there is as yet no plan on going anywhere specific.

That Trump had last met Kim in the demilitarized zone of Korea likely lent itself to the suggestion Pyongyang might be on the table. Trump has suggested he hopes for talks by the end of the year, but has provided no indication where he might be comfortable having them.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.