North Korea’s Kim willing to meet Trump, says South’s spy agency

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is willing to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump, South Korea’s spy agency said at a parliamentary audit on November 4.

“Although the North-U.S. summit fell through, we have confirmed through various sources that [the North] has been preparing for it,” Lee Seong-kweun, an opposition lawmaker from the People Power Party who serves as the parliamentary intelligence committee’s secretary, told reporters in a briefing on November 4. The audit took place at the National Intelligence Service (NIS) office in Seocho District, southern Seoul.

“Kim Jong-un is willing to talk, and he will begin dialogues with the United States when [conditions] are met,” the agency told lawmakers. “They are likely to push for a North-U.S. summit after South Korea’s joint military training with the United States in March, while also preparing for its own parade.”

According to the spy agency, North Korea has been “analyzing the characteristics of U.S. working-level officials.” Kim Jong-un has toned down his “nuclear state rhetoric” by making less mention of nuclear armament ever since his speech at the Supreme People’s Assembly session in September, when he hinted at a conditional conversation with the United States, according to the agency.

“We observed that North Korea deliberated on [North Korean] Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui’s visit to China and Russia until the last minute, leaving room for a meeting after U.S. President Donald Trump expressed his wishes to meet with Kim Jong-un during his tour of Asia,” the NIS said.

Kim seems to be “in generally good health, despite being known to have existing health conditions,” according to the agency, which noted that Kim’s heart rate was believed to be at around 80 per minute — indicating that his previously suspected high blood pressure appears to have subsided.

“He has been able to travel long distances between Pyongyang and provincial areas and attend various events without difficulty,” Rep. Lee said.

“Kim has been sending direct messages to South Korea through multiple speeches, highlighting his leadership and attempting to instill optimism about the future,” the NIS reportedly told lawmakers. “Kim is pursuing his own cult of personality that goes beyond his predecessors, Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong-il, by commissioning mosaic murals and creating new badges.”

North Korea is especially “emphasizing its blood alliance with Russia and exploring a deeper partnership,” according to the NIS. “Over 10,000 North Korean troops have been deployed along the Russia-Ukraine border.” Pyongyang is also preparing to open the New Yalu River Bridge with expectations of material support from China, according to the NIS.

North Korea’s hostile policy toward South Korea, however, remains unchanged, according to the NIS.

“[North Korea] has instructed its [overseas] missions to avoid contact with South Korean organizations, to respond differently to South Korea and the United States, and to adhere strictly to its principles,” according to the NIS. “North Korea continues to block any room for improving relations with the South.”

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]