Trump may meet with another dictator: South Korean intelligence tells about DPRK's actions

North Korea (DPRK) is preparing for a possible summit between its dictator Kim Jong-Un and the president of the United States Donald Trumpthe idea was put forward by the US leader during his recent visit to Asia. This was stated by South Korean MP Lee Sung-kyung, citing data from the Seoul National Intelligence Service (NIS), Bloomberg reports.

According to the lawmaker, the DPRK collected intelligence on U.S. officials who were engaged in diplomacy with Pyongyang behind the scenes.

North Korean Foreign Minister Choi Song-hui was also considering whether to go ahead with a planned visit to Russia after Trump expressed his willingness to meet with Kim, a lawmaker who participated in the closed-door meeting added.

If the US-DPRK summit were to be organized in October, Choi's presence would be necessary, forcing the official to postpone her visit to Russia.

The last time the US president met with the dictator was in 2019 during his first term. During an October trip to Asia, Trump said he remained open to a new summit, but scheduling conflicts prevented it, Bloomberg reports.

"Backed by growing alignment with Russia and strengthened ties with China, North Korea could seek to improve ties with the US. The NIS sees a high likelihood of a summit between North Korea and the US," Park Sung-won, another South Korean lawmaker who received information from the country's intelligence service, told reporters.

Meanwhile, Kim himself also left open the possibility of a new meeting with Trump, although he insisted that Washington and Seoul must drop the demand that Pyongyang abandon nuclear weapons as a precondition. The fact that the dictator is open to talks again underscores the DPRK's efforts to change its diplomacy to legitimize its nuclear arsenal as permanent.

Previous summits between the US president and Kim have not convinced North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions. Since then, Pyongyang has expanded its weapons programs and become a key ally of the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin by providing support for Moscow in the war against Ukraine.

The NIS also told MPs that the DPRK may have received assistance from Russia to improve the accuracy of its missiles. The South Korean agency noted that it is closely monitoring whether sensitive military technologies are being transferred after a series of visits by Pyongyang's military officials to Russia.

• Seoul's intelligence also said that the DPRK is probably ready to immediately conduct a seventh nuclear test, if Kim decides to do so.
• According to the NIS, since September, North Korea has sent about 5,000 military construction workers to Russia to help with "restoration of infrastructure".