North Korea dismisses US military drill cuts, denies Trump talks

Investing.com -- North Korea rejected claims of direct communication between Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump on Wednesday and dismissed Washington's decision to reduce joint military exercises with South Korea as meaningless.

Kim Yo Jong, sister of the North Korean leader, said through state media KCNA that while the relationship between the two leaders remains excellent, US hostile policies toward the Democratic People's Republic of Korea have not changed.

The statement followed Trump's Monday remarks that Kim Jong Un responded to requests for a conversation between the two leaders. Trump ordered the Pentagon on Sunday to curb military exercises with South Korea, citing the ally's lack of support for the ongoing war in Iran and because the drills sent an inappropriate signal toward North Korea.

Trump met with Kim Jong Un three times during his first term, but the talks did not produce any diplomatic breakthrough. The US president has repeatedly emphasized his good relations with the North Korean leader.

Kim Yo Jong said North Korea was uninterested in the US decision to scale down the US-South Korea joint military drills and did not think the decision was worth commenting on. She added that any reduction in scale or duration did not change what she described as the provocative and aggressive nature of the drills.

"If the US side is trying to tout its decision as some kind of an 'act of goodwill,' they will not get the response that they want," Kim said in her statement, published in Korean.

The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Trump is pressing aides to arrange a meeting with Kim Jong Un as soon as this fall to revive personal diplomacy with the reclusive leader. The two previously met face-to-face in 2018 in Singapore during Trump's first term.

Trump has privately discussed arranging an in-person meeting with Kim during his next trip to Asia, likely in November, when he is expected to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China, the Journal said.

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