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US president-elect Donald Trump’s team is discussing pursuing direct talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, hoping a fresh diplomatic push can lower the risks of armed conflict, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Several in Trump’s team now see a direct approach from Trump, to build on a relationship that already exists, as most likely to break the ice with Kim, years after the two traded insults and what Trump called “beautiful” letters in an unprecedented diplomatic effort during his first term in office, the people said.
The policy discussions are fluid and no final decisions have been made by the president-elect, the sources said.
Trump’s transition team did not respond to a request for comment.
What reciprocation Kim will offer Trump is unclear. The North Koreans ignored four years of outreach by US President Joe Biden to start talks with no preconditions, and Kim is emboldened by an expanded missile arsenal and a much closer relationship with Russia.
“We have already gone as far as we can on negotiating with the United States,” Kim said last week in a speech at a Pyongyang military exhibition, according to state media.