SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers in a private briefing Tuesday that nuclear negotiations between the United States and North Korea will likely resume within two to three weeks, according to one of the lawmakers who attended the session.
The National Intelligence Service gave its assessment on prospect of the stalled nuclear diplomacy, hours after President Donald Trump said another meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “could happen soon.”
Kim Min-ki, one of the lawmakers who attended the NIS briefing, quotes the spy service as saying there is “a high possibility for working-level talks (between the U.S. and North Korea) to restart within two to three weeks.”
Kim Min-ki said the NIS also told lawmakers that another Trump-Kim summit could occur this year if the two countries report progress from those working-level nuclear negotiations.
Calls to the NIS seeking a confirmation weren’t immediately answered. The NIS typically doesn’t comment on the contents of closed-door briefings it provides to lawmakers.
A U.S.-led diplomacy aimed at ending the North Korean nuclear crisis largely remain stalemated since a second Trump-Kim summit in Vietnam in February ended without any agreement due to squabbling over U.S.-led economic sanctions on North Korea. The two leaders held a brief, impromptu meeting at a Korean border village in late June and agreed to resume talks.
Trump provided few details about when he said Tuesday another meeting with Kim “could happen soon.” He spoke in response to a question as he arrived at the United Nations.
