White House says U.S. policy on N. Korea unchanged, reaffirms Trump's openness to dialogue with Kim

WASHINGTON, Sept. 1 (Yonhap) -- The United States' policy on North Korea remains unchanged, a White House official said Tuesday, while reaffirming U.S. President Donald Trump's openness to dialogue with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un "without any preconditions."

The official made the remarks in response to Yonhap News Agency's question about whether the White House has been seriously preparing for a potential Trump-Kim summit, amid questions about whether Trump would continue to pursue the North's denuclearization or shift toward goals short of denuclearization, such as tension reduction.

"U.S. policy on North Korea has not changed. President Trump remains open to talking with Kim Jong-un without any preconditions," the official said in an email.

The official pointed out that in his first term, Trump held three summits with Kim that "stabilized the Korean Peninsula."

Questions about whether the Trump administration would stick to the denuclearization goal resurfaced after Trump said last month that North Korea has 57 "very powerful" nuclear weapons, while declining to answer a question about whether his goal in reengaging with Kim is still denuclearization.

Trump has expressed his intention to meet Kim later this year.

On Monday, Kelly McKeague, director of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, said that the White House has asked the Pentagon agency what it could do should Trump reach a deal with Kim, another sign that Trump is looking to resume summitry with Kim. POW and MIA stand for prisoner of war and missing in action.

South Korea's National Intelligence Service told the National Assembly's intelligence committee Tuesday (Seoul time) that a Trump-Kim summit could take place "at any time," citing "possible signs of dialogue" between the U.S. and North Korea.

During his first term, Trump had three in-person meetings with Kim: the first in June 2018 in Singapore, the second in February 2019 and the third at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom in June 2019.

This AFP file photo shows U.S. President Donald Trump (R) shaking hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un after signing a joint statement at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa Island in Singapore on June 12, 2018. (Yonhap)