Days after North Korea held a meeting with its southern neighbor to discuss logistics for an upcoming joint summit, Pyongyang extended an olive branch to the United States by offering to discuss denuclearization, US officials said on Sunday.
"The US has confirmed that Kim Jong Un is willing to discuss the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," a Trump administration official told The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and Washington Post.
Read more: Is the world ignoring North Korea's 'crimes against humanity'?
The overture could make a planned summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump more likely.
The delivery of this message directly to US government officials, rather than through third parties, has created confidence in Washington that the unprecedented meeting should take place.
The Trump administration views denuclearization discussions as a condition to engage in any negotiation and as the basis for any possible meeting with Kim Jong Un.
Read more: Is a Trump-Kim meeting a recipe for disaster? Or so crazy it just might work?
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North Korea: Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un's nuclear saga
January 2, 2017: Missile test imminent
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said in his New Year’s address that his country was in the "final stages" of launching an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). US President-elect Donald Trump, whose inauguration was set for January 20, said on Twitter: "North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the US. It won't happen!"
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North Korea: Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un's nuclear saga
July 4, 2017: North Korea's 'gift packages'
North Korea tested its first ICBM — the Hwasong-14 — on US Independence Day. Kim reportedly told his scientists that "the US would be displeased" by the launch. This, he said, was because "it was given a 'package of gifts' ... on its 'Independence Day.'" Trump wrote on Twitter in response: "North Korea has just launched another missile. Does this guy have anything better to do with his life?"
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North Korea: Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un's nuclear saga
July 28, 2017: US mainland threatened
Pyongyang tested its second Hwasong-14 weeks later. Experts estimated the new rocket could reach the US mainland. Trump lashed out at North Korean ally China, writing in a Tweet: "I am very disappointed in China. Our foolish past leaders have allowed them to make hundreds of billions of dollars a year in trade, yet they do NOTHING for us with North Korea, just talk."
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North Korea: Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un's nuclear saga
August 8, 2017: 'Fire and fury'
Trump appeared to threaten swift military action against Pyongyang when he told reporters: "North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States. They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen." North Korea responded by threatening to fire a medium-range ballistic missile into the waters around Guam, a US territory in the Pacific Ocean. It did not follow through.
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North Korea: Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un's nuclear saga
August 29, 2017: Japan rocket test
Pyongyang sparked international outcry when it test-launched a mid-range ballistic missile — the Hwasong-12 — over Japan. The UN Security Council unanimously condemned the test. Trump said in a White House statement: "Threatening and destabilizing actions only increase the North Korean regime’s isolation in the region and among all nations of the world. All options are on the table."
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North Korea: Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un's nuclear saga
September 3, 2017: Hydrogen bomb test
North Korea announced it had successfully tested its sixth nuclear weapon. Pyongyang said it was a powerful type of nuclear weapon called a hydrogen bomb and that it could be placed on top of a ballistic missile. Trump wrote on Twitter: "The United States is considering, in addition to other options, stopping all trade with any country doing business with North Korea."
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North Korea: Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un's nuclear saga
September 19, 2017: Threat to 'Rocket Man'
In his first speech at the United Nations, Trump called North Korea a "rogue state" and said Washington "will have no choice than to totally destroy North Korea" if Pyongyang failed to stop its nuclear weapons program. Referring to Kim, he added: "Rocket man is on a suicide mission for himself and his regime." Kim called Trump a "mentally-deranged US dotard" two days later.
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North Korea: Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un's nuclear saga
November 29, 2017: Third ICBM test
North Korea test-fired its third ICBM of 2017. Pyongyang claimed it was a new missile, the Hwasong-15, which was superior to the Hwasong-14 and could hit any target on the US mainland. The US urged allies, including Germany, to break diplomatic ties with North Korea. Berlin ignored the call. Trump also called Kim a "sick puppy."
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North Korea: Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un's nuclear saga
January 3, 2018: Who's got the bigger button?
Kim said in his 2018 New Year's address that the North had completed its nuclear weapons program and that a "nuclear button" was on his desk at all times. Trump wrote two days later on Twitter: "Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!"
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North Korea: Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un's nuclear saga
February 10, 2018: Tensions thawing?
South Korean President Moon Jae-in welcomed Kim's sister, Kim Yo Jong, at the presidential house in the South Korean capital. She handed a letter to Moon inviting him to meet the North Korean leader in Pyongyang. Tensions appeared to be thawing. Seoul and Pyongyang had already agreed to send a unified hockey team to compete at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
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North Korea: Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un's nuclear saga
March 6, 2018: Momentum builds
South Korean National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong led a delegation on March 5 to Pyongyang to discuss the potential for peace talks. The next day, Chung said both sides had agreed to hold a joint summit in April and set up a telephone hotline between the two capitals. He also said Pyongyang would agree to stop its nuclear weapons and missile tests if the US agreed to hold talks with the North.
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North Korea: Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un's nuclear saga
March 9, 2018: Trump agrees
Chung flew on to Washington, D.C. to speak with Trump. After the meeting, Chung told reporters the US president had agreed to meet Kim by May. Trump later wrote on Twitter: "no missile testing by North Korea during this period of time. Great progress being made but sanctions will remain until an agreement is reached. Meeting being planned!" Foreign leaders welcomed the historic breakthrough.
Author: Alexander Pearson
The existence of at least two or three direct channels of information between officials of both countries had previously been confirmed by former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Still, the two officials that spoke with the WSJ and the Washington Post could not specify when or how the contacts between governments had taken place.
Read more: Opinion: With Tillerson's firing, White House loses a voice of reason
Trump took his own administration and other countries by surprise last month when he accepted an offer from Kim to hold a meeting.
This month, China also confirmed that Kim Jong Un would be open to discussing denuclearization.
But no public or private confirmation from the North Koreans had reached the US, which fueled doubts about the veracity of their pledge.
jcg/rt (dpa, Reuters, AP)
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