DONALD Trump has tweeted that Kim Jong Un sent him a letter personally apologising for North Korea’s missile tests and promising an end date for the launches.
Trump claims the dictator assured him that the tests will stop once the joint US and South Korea exercise he condemns comes to an end.
MailOnline reports that Trump took to Twitter to say Kimg Jong Un “very nicely” wrote to him.
Trump Tweeted: “In a letter to me sent by Kim Jong Un, he stated, very nicely, that he would like to meet and start negotiations as soon as the joint US/South Korea joint exercise are over.”
“It was a long letter, much of it complaining about the ridiculous and expensive exercises.”
In a follow up tweet he wrote: “…also a small apology for testing the short range missiles, and that this testing would stop when the exercises end.
“I look forward to seeing Kim Jong Un in the not too distant future!
“A nuclear free North Korea will lead to one of the most successful countries in the world!”
Three North Korean missile tests were carried out within eight days of each other, starting on July 25, in what Kim Jong-un said was a “solemn warning” to South Korea and America.
South Korea and the US embarked on a joint military drill on August 5 despite threats of “consequences” from the North.
Neither the US or South Korea has said what the drill will involve or given it a code-name, but it is believed to be a slimmed-down version of the annual Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise which in the past has included thousands of US troops.
With the joint drills set to start on August 11 and preparations already under way, North Korea fired two “unidentified projectiles” on August 10 into the sea, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported.
The South Korean military said the projectiles were fired from near the northeastern city of Hamhung into the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan.
North Korean media outlets released images of Kim Jong Un watching the latest missile launch and he is quoted as saying the launch is “an occasion to send an adequate warning to the joint military drill now underway by the US and South Korean authorities.”
North Korea views the joint exercises between the US and South Korea as practice for an invasion of the North, and asked Trump to stop them when they met back in 2018.
However, with nuclear talks between the two countries having dwindled the joint drills have restarted – much to Kim Jong Un’s dismay.
The day before Trump shared the news of Kim Jong Un’s apology on Twitter, he also described the hand-delivered letter was “personal” and “very positive.”
“He really wrote a beautiful three-page – I mean right from top to bottom – a really beautiful letter,” Trump said.
Trump also emphasised that North Korea’s missile tests – which appear to violate UN regulations – were short range.
South Korean defence minister Jeong Kyeong-doo told parliament that Seoul was “clearly maintaining its readiness posture against any military action by North Korea”.
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