![\"North](\"https:\/\/cdn.ghana-mma.com\/2019\/06\/26103849-696x463.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"North](\"https:\/\/cdn.ghanamma.com\/2019\/06\/26103849-696x463.jpg\" "\\"North")
<\/div>\nNorth Korean and American officials are holding \u201cbehind-the-scenes talks\u201d to arrange a third summit between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un, South Korea\u2019s president said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Discussions on a possible meeting on the fate of the North\u2019s nuclear arsenal come four months after a second meeting between the leaders in Vietnam collapsed without any agreement.<\/p>\n
No public meetings between Washington and Pyongyang have been held since the breakdown of the Hanoi summit. But the prospects for a resumption of US-North Korea diplomacy have brightened since Trump and Kim recently exchanged personal letters.<\/p>\n
Trump called Kim\u2019s letter \u201cbeautiful\u201d while Kim described Trump\u2019s as \u201cexcellent\u201d \u2013 though the content of their letters has not been disclosed.<\/p>\n
In written answers to questions submitted by media, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Trump\u2019s and Kim\u2019s \u201cwillingness to engage in dialogue has never faded\u201d and their recent letter exchanges prove that.<\/p>\n
Moon, a liberal who met Kim three times last year, has made dialogue with the North as a route to forging peace on the Korean Peninsula a centerpiece of his presidency. He has played a central role in facilitating US-North Korean negotiations.<\/p>\n
Moon said he doesn\u2019t see the Hanoi summit as a failure and stressed patience was needed to bridge a 70-year \u201csea of mistrust\u201d.<\/p>\n
He said he thinks the meeting served as a chance for both Washington and Pyongyang to better understand each other\u2019s positions and \u201cput everything they want on the negotiating table\u201d.<\/p>\n
Russia wants to resolve North Korea\u2019s nuclear standoff<\/p>\n
\u201cThe success of denuclearisation and the peace process on the Korean Peninsula cannot be determined by a summit or two,\u201d Moon said, adding discussions in Hanoi will form the basis for future talks.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth sides clearly understand the necessity for dialogue,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u2018New way\u2019?<\/strong><\/p>\n Despite the deadlocked nuclear negotiations, both Trump and Kim have described their personal relationship as good. When asked whether Kim\u2019s recent letter included a mention about another summit, Trump said, \u201cMay be there was.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut we, you know, at some point, we\u2019ll do that,\u201d Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday. \u201cGetting along very well. He\u2019s not doing nuclear testing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n In yet another reminder of North Korea\u2019s continued mistrust of the United States, its foreign ministry said earlier Wednesday it won\u2019t surrender to US-led sanctions and accused Washington of trying to \u201cbring us to our knees\u201d.<\/p>\n Kim has said the North would seek a \u201cnew way\u201d if the United States persists with sanctions and pressure.<\/p>\n Following his setback in Hanoi, Kim traveled to Russia in April for his first summit with President Vladimir Putin. Kim also hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping in Pyongyang last week for their fifth summit since March last year, and analysts say the North\u2019s outreach to its traditional allies is aimed at strengthening its leverage with the Trump administration.<\/p>\n Moon said he views the North\u2019s expanding diplomacy with Beijing and Moscow as a positive development in efforts to resolve the nuclear standoff.<\/p>\n \u201cChina and Russia have continued to play constructive roles so far to peacefully resolve the Korean Peninsula issue,\u201d he said. \u201cI hope that China and Russia will play specific parts in helping the North resume dialogue at an early stage.\u201d<\/p>\n Irreversible stage<\/strong><\/p>\n Trump\u2019s top envoy on North Korea, Stephen Biegun, is to visit South Korea on Thursday, and some analysts said he may use his trip as a chance to meet North Korean officials at a Korean border village.<\/p>\n Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday the US was prepared to resume talks with North Korea \u201cat a moment\u2019s notice\u201d if the North signaled it wanted discussions about denuclearisation.<\/p>\n Moon said the dismantling of the Yongbyon nuclear complex, which Kim offered in Hanoi, could mean the North\u2019s denuclearisation process has entered \u201can irreversible stage\u201d if it\u2019s completely demolished and verified. He said \u201csubstantive process\u201d in US-North Korea diplomacy could also help the international community seek a partial or gradual easing of UN sanctions.<\/p>\n Yongbyon has facilities to produce both plutonium and highly enriched uranium, two key nuclear ingredients. North Korea has called the complex \u201cthe heart\u201d of its nuclear programme, while many outside experts say it\u2019s an aging facility and North Korea is believed to have additional multiple secret uranium enrichment facilities.<\/p>\n \u201cI think creating a security environment where Chairman Kim can decisively act on nuclear dismantlement without worries is the fastest way to achieve denuclearisation diplomatically,\u201d Moon wrote, without specifying the security concessions Washington and Seoul could make.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n