US: Talks underway for second Trump-Kim meeting

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders has said that President Donald Trump was open to another meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong-un despite National Security Adviser John Bolton's assertion that Washington is still waiting for Pyongyang to take steps toward denuclearization.

Trump has received another letter from Kim, which Sanders described on Monday as "very warm" and "very positive", noting that the White House will not release the letter unless Kim agrees. The primary intent of the letter, she said at Monday's briefing, was to "request and look to schedule another meeting" between the two leaders, something the White House is "open to".

She said that the White House is "already in the process of coordinating" another meeting, but declined to provide further details on a time or location.
"The possibility of another meeting between the two presidents obviously exists," said White House National Security Adviser John Bolton in a speech before the Federalist Society in Washington.

"But President Trump can't make the North Koreans walk through the door he's holding open. They are the ones that have to take the steps to denuclearize. And that's what we are waiting for.” Trump's national security adviser said that he remains convinced that North Korea could dismantle most of its ballistic missiles within a year, as he said in July.

When asked how he arrived at that calculation, Bolton responded that last April Kim told South Korean President Moon Jae-in that he could denuclearize North Korea "in two years". Bolton said that Moon asked Kim why it couldn't be done in one year and Kim replied that it could be, whereupon the US administration official added that he personally thought that it could be done even more quickly.

Sanders cited the letter as "further evidence of progress" toward denuclearization, noting that the latest parade was "not about their nuclear arsenal". The letter, she said, showed a "commitment to continuing conversations".

Sanders' comments came hours after Bolton said Trump has "tried to hold the door open" for Kim to denuclearize, but the US is still waiting on Pyongyang to take those steps.

“A number of things that have taken place: The remains have come back; the hostages have returned; there's been no testing of missiles or nuclear material; and of course, the historic summit between the two leaders. And this letter is just further indication of the progress that we hope to continue to make,” Sanders said.

South Korean officials also said last week that Kim has "unwavering trust for President Trump" and wants to achieve the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula before the US leader finishes his term.

According to press reports published in July, the White House wanted to schedule a second Trump-Kim summit in September in New York, taking advantage of the UN General Assembly, but that encounter was predicated upon progress toward denuclearization by North Korea, which - so far - has not been made public.