North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has reportedly rejected a letter from former U.S. President Donald Trump that aimed to revive the dialogue between the two leaders, initially established during Trump’s first term in office.
According to NK News, a Seoul-based outlet that monitors developments in North Korea, President Trump wrote a letter that U.S. officials attempted to deliver to North Korean representatives at the United Nations in New York. However, the North Korean officials repeatedly declined to accept the letter.
The Trump team has not officially commented on the report. When asked, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated earlier this week that Trump "remains receptive to correspondence with Kim Jong Un."
In late April, reports surfaced indicating that the Trump camp was exploring the possibility of re-engaging with Pyongyang. Sources noted that external advisors, including policy think tanks, had been consulted to assess the prospects of renewing diplomatic engagement with North Korea. However, expert analysis at the time concluded that Pyongyang’s bolstered military and diplomatic standing left Kim with little incentive to reopen dialogue.
The news of Trump’s overture followed confirmed reports that North Korean troops had been fighting alongside Russian forces in the Kursk region against Ukrainian troops. North Korea and Russia signed a Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership last year, which has since evolved into what analysts consider a de facto military alliance. In addition to battlefield coordination, North Korea is believed to have received technological support from Moscow, significantly accelerating its development of hypersonic missile systems, nuclear capabilities, and the broader modernization of its armed forces.
Once an isolated pariah state, North Korea had shown some openness to Trump’s proposals seven years ago, which included denuclearization in exchange for sanctions relief. Although the second summit between Trump and Kim in Hanoi in 2019 ended without a deal, the two maintained cordial relations. Trump famously visited the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) later that year, where he met Kim at the military demarcation line—becoming the first sitting U.S. president to step foot into North Korea.
However, with the Biden administration showing little interest in pursuing talks and Pyongyang drawing closer to both Moscow and, more quietly, Beijing, North Korea appears to have little reason to engage with Washington. Its nuclear arsenal, once a point of contention, is now increasingly viewed by the regime as the ultimate guarantor of national survival.