United States President Donald Trump may be preparing to refocus US foreign policy attention on North Korea’s nuclear ambitions following Washington’s agreement with Iran, according to South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.
Lee disclosed during a news conference that Trump made the remark while they attended a G7 dinner on Friday, suggesting that North Korea could become a priority issue for the US administration.
According to Lee, Trump said that “the time had come to pay attention to the North Korea issue,” a statement widely seen as an indication of renewed interest in addressing Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons programme.
The South Korean leader also urged a reassessment of existing sanctions on North Korea, arguing that the measures have failed to produce the desired results due to the country’s growing ties with Russia.
“Even a small amount of assistance from Russia is of great help to North Korea,” Lee said.
The Korean Peninsula remains divided more than seven decades after the Korean War ended in an armistice rather than a formal peace agreement. The two countries are separated by the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone, while North Korea has steadily expanded its nuclear programme since carrying out its first nuclear test in 2006.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has strengthened relations with Moscow in recent years, providing troops and military supplies to support Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Kim has also sought closer engagement with China. He recently welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to Pyongyang shortly after Xi held consecutive meetings in Beijing with Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Official statements released by both North Korea and China after the visit made no reference to denuclearisation, a development analysts viewed as a sign that Beijing may be increasingly accepting of Pyongyang’s nuclear status.
North Korea has repeatedly described itself as an “irreversible” nuclear state since talks between Kim and Trump broke down in Hanoi in 2019 over disagreements surrounding sanctions relief and denuclearisation commitments.
Kim has since vowed to further strengthen the country’s nuclear arsenal and recently unveiled a new facility dedicated to producing fuel for nuclear weapons.
During his first term in office, Trump held three meetings with Kim in an effort to secure a denuclearisation agreement. Despite the unprecedented diplomatic engagement, the negotiations failed to produce a lasting breakthrough.
Trump renewed his outreach efforts during an Asia tour last year, declaring that he was “100 percent” willing to meet Kim again. However, North Korea has not responded publicly to the proposal.
The US president has also departed from longstanding US policy positions by describing North Korea as “sort of a nuclear power”.
On Sunday, Trump shared an uncaptioned photograph on social media showing himself alongside Kim during their 2018 summit in Singapore.
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