State Dept. leaves door open to Trump-Kim summit, says president will meet anyone if it serves US interests

The US Department of State said Donald Trump is willing to meet with anyone if it serves American national interests, leaving open the possibility of a North Korea-US summit before the end of the year. While the department gave no signal that direct contacts between the two sides are currently underway, it stopped short of ruling out a resumption of summit diplomacy with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Department of State spokesperson Tommy Pigott, speaking at a press briefing for foreign media at the New York Foreign Press Center on Monday (local time), was asked whether a year-end summit between Trump and Kim was possible. "President Trump is a dealmaker," Pigott said. "He always makes decisions based on US national interests."

Pigott added that Trump "has made it very clear that he views engagement not as a concession but as a necessity," and that "if the president determines that meeting with someone is in the national interest of the United States, he will meet with that person."

"I think that willingness has produced more results than any other president," Pigott said, describing it as an effort "to pursue deals and resolve conflicts that have persisted for a long time."

The remarks were widely interpreted as leaving open the possibility that Trump could pursue direct talks with Kim during his second term, as he did in his first. Trump met Kim three times during his first term and has repeatedly signaled openness to dialogue since returning to office.

However, Pigott declined to say whether back-channel contacts between the two sides are currently taking place or whether US officials plan to meet with North Korean counterparts on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly's high-level week. "There's nothing specific to announce," he said.

The United States has used the occasion of the UN General Assembly to press North Korea to return to dialogue. A joint statement issued after a trilateral foreign ministers' meeting among the US, South Korea and Japan the same day reaffirmed "an unwavering commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea" and urged Pyongyang to return to talks.

Whether direct North Korea-US contact will materialize on the sidelines of the General Assembly remains unclear. Some had expected Trump to deliver a separate message to North Korea in his UN address on Tuesday, but he made no mention of the country.

North Korea, for its part, has maintained its longstanding position that Washington must first abandon its hostile policy toward Pyongyang. Against that backdrop, analysts say the two sides are likely to continue probing each other over the conditions and timing for a resumption of dialogue.

Meanwhile, Pigott said the International Criminal Court poses an "unacceptable threat" to US sovereignty and urged other countries to withdraw from the court.

He also rebuffed criticism that the United States has fallen short in responding to international disasters, citing US support during the Ebola outbreak and earthquakes in Colombia and Venezuela as well as flooding in Nepal, calling such criticism "a false claim."