President Donald Trump released a letter he recently received from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and praised the “great progress” in talks with Pyongyang amid signs that Kim is violating UN sanctions and little, if any, evidence of advances.
Eager to provide evidence that talks with North Korea are yielding progress, Trump continues to say that his personal chemistry with Kim remains key to achieving diplomatic success amid growing skepticism about Pyongyang’s willingness to denuclearize.
In just the latest sign of difficulty, a UN Security Council diplomat told CNN on Thursday that the US submitted a report to the United Nations North Korea Security Council Sanctions Committee charging North Korea with evading UN sanctions through illegal transfers of refined petroleum at sea.
In a letter Wednesday to the UN, the US asks the world body to call on all members to “exercise enhanced vigilance” against North Korean attempts to procure more petroleum supplies.
Kim praises ‘Your Excellency’ Trump
While avoiding specifics about the status of diplomatic talks between the US and North Korea, Kim’s letter lavishes praise on Trump, repeatedly referring to the President as “Your Excellency.”
“I firmly believe that the strong will, sincere efforts and unique approach of myself and Your Excellency Mr. President aimed at opening up a new future between the DPRK and the US will surely come to fruition,” Kim writes.
Kim says the Singapore summit and the letter both leaders signed during that meeting “indeed the start of a meaningful journey.”
However, the letter fails to mention anything related to denuclearization and despite Trump’s claims to the contrary, Kim has still not publicly declared what he will or will not do in regard to his nuclear weapons program.
“Kim knows his mark, flattery, but note it does not use the word ‘denuclearization’ once,” Vipin Narang, an associate professor of political science at MIT who studies nuclear proliferation, told CNN. “Kim is clearly saying, ‘We will only talk nukes after we transform the relationship.
