JAKARTA: A US diplomat handed over a letter for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un from US President Donald Trump to North Korea’s foreign minister at a meeting Singapore on Saturday (Aug 4), a US State Department spokeswoman said.
Sung Kim, the US ambassador to the Philippines, who has played a prominent role in US talks with North Korea, handed the letter to Ri Yong Ho on the sidelines of a regional meeting, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.
She said the letter was a response to one from Kim Jong Un to Trump.
In Singapore, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Ri shook hands and exchanged words and smiles at a Southeast Asian security forum, but had no formal meeting, Nauert said. Nauert said Pompeo told Ri: “We should meet again soon.”
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo shakes hands with North Korea’s Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho as South Korea’s Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha looks on at the Asean Regional Forum Retreat Session in Singapore August 4, 2018. REUTERS/Edgar Su
She said Ri replied: “I agree, there are many productive conversations to be had.”
