Trump says Kim Jong-un has responded to proposal for dialogue

US President Donald Trump announced on Monday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had responded to his proposal for dialogue. This statement emerged following Trump's order the previous day to substantially reduce joint South Korea-US military exercises. Trump stated that this action, motivated by his "very good relationship" with Kim, indicated that Washington and Pyongyang have engaged in contact, sparking speculation about a potential meeting between the two leaders.

When pressed by CNN reporter Kristen Holmes about Kim's response to US requests for talks, Trump retorted, "How do you know he hasn’t responded?" Trump confirmed that the state of bilateral dialogue was "very positive," but refrained from providing specific details about the nature of Kim's response. The president's announcement did not clarify whether direct communication between Washington and Pyongyang had occurred prior to the exercise reduction or after.

It remains uncertain whether the US communicated with Pyongyang before or after the announcement of the scaled-back drills. On Sunday, Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, that he had directed Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to reduce the joint exercises with Seoul due to their high costs and the perception that they sent a "totally inappropriate and hostile" signal to North Korea.

He emphasized that Pyongyang had been "unthreatening and respectful" during his presidency, and that the exercises were deemed unnecessary given North Korea's lack of aggression. Trump characterized his decision to scale back the drills as a move to enhance safety, asserting that "No, just the opposite, I’m making it much safer."

He further claimed that Kim had always treated him with great respect, recounting their numerous interactions, "two primary occasions," to underscore their relationship. Victor Cha, a noted analyst, suggested that Trump's reduction of drills might aim to deter North Korea from conducting additional intercontinental ballistic missile or nuclear tests, thereby opening the door for renewed engagement with Kim.

Cha speculated that the move could also be an attempt to address the growing closeness between North Korea and Russia, as well as a reaction to the lack of a clear exit strategy in the ongoing Iran conflict. Trump also expressed dissatisfaction with South Korea's reluctance to assist US military operations in Iran during his first term, stating that President Lee Jae Myung had refused a request for support.

Trump questioned the logic behind Seoul's refusal to aid the US, given their shared defense against North Korea, but later corrected the number of US soldiers stationed in South Korea, noting it is around 28,500, not 39,000.