U.S. President Donald Trump plans to shift his attention to North Korea’s nuclear program after Washington reached a deal with Iran, according to South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.
Lee told a news conference that Trump said to him at the G7 dinner on Friday that “it is time to pay attention to the North Korea issue,” a remark that may signal a renewed U.S. focus on Pyongyang’s nuclear capabilities.
Lee also told Trump that sanctions against North Korea are “ineffective,” pointing to deepening military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow.
“Even a small amount of aid from Russia helps North Korea a lot,” Lee said.
The two Koreas remain technically at war because the 1950-53 conflict ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty, and are separated by the Demilitarized Zone, where the border runs. North Korea announced its first nuclear test in 2006 and is believed to possess dozens of nuclear weapons.
Kim Jong Un has recently sought to elevate his standing with allies, sending troops and munitions to support Russia’s war in Ukraine.
He also recently hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping in Pyongyang, shortly after Xi held back-to-back summits in Beijing with Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
Official statements from both Pyongyang and Beijing made no mention of denuclearizing North Korea – an outcome experts interpret as China’s tacit acceptance.
Pyongyang has repeatedly declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear state since the 2019 summit between Kim and Trump in Hanoi collapsed over the scope of denuclearization and sanctions relief.
Kim pledged to expand North Korea’s nuclear capabilities when he unveiled a new facility to develop nuclear bomb fuel.
Trump met Kim three times during his first term – once declaring they “fell in love” – as he pushed for a denuclearization deal. But no substantive progress was made.
Trump intensified his outreach to Kim during an Asian trip last year, saying he was “100 percent” ready to meet. The offer has not received a response.
The U.S. president even broke decades of U.S. policy by calling North Korea “sort of” a nuclear power.
On Sunday, Trump posted an uncaptioned photo of himself and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un taken at their 2018 meeting in Singapore.
