Trump posts old photos with North's Kim in possible signal for renewed talks

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday posted photos of himself with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, in what appeared to be another signal of his desire to resume dialogue with Pyongyang.

Trump posted three photos of himself with Kim on Truth Social.

The first photo appears to have been taken during the first U.S.-North Korea summit in Singapore in June 2018. The other two are believed to be from their meeting at Panmunjom on the inter-Korean border in June 2019.

Trump's decision to post a series of old photos with Kim is seen as another attempt to encourage North Korea to return to dialogue, which follows his recent move to scale back joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States.

The photos, notably, did not include any from the second U.S.-North Korea summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, in February 2019. The Hanoi summit ended without an agreement after the two sides failed to narrow their differences over denuclearization and sanctions relief.

By sharing photos from the first summit and the Panmunjom meeting, Trump appeared to highlight his friendly relationship with Kim.

Trump has recently expressed his intention to pursue a meeting with Kim before the end of the year. North Korea has acknowledged that Trump and Kim have a good personal relationship but has remained cautious about resuming dialogue, saying U.S. policy toward North Korea has not changed.

Trump previously said he would significantly scale back joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States, while citing his good relationship with Kim as one reason for the decision.

BY HYEON YE-SEUL [[email protected]]