Kim receives 'excellent' letter from Trump: North Korea

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reads a personal letter from U.S. President Donald Trump at his office in this photo released by Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency on Sunday. Yonhap

South Korea says exchange of letter is 'positive signal'

By Yi Whan-woo

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has received a personal letter from U.S. President Donald Trump and was satisfied with what was written, according to Pyongyang's state media, Sunday.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Kim found the content of the letter to be "excellent" and lauded Trump for his "political judgment and extraordinary courage."

The KNCA also released a photo of Kim reading the letter.

However, the report did not specify the date of the letter received or what Trump wrote.

The letter comes after Trump told reporters early this month about a "beautiful letter" he had received from Kim ― the first since the collapse of the second Kim-Trump summit in Hanoi in late February.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"The supreme leader said with satisfaction that the letter is of excellent content," the KNCA reported. "He appreciated the political judgment and extraordinary courage of President Trump. He said he would contemplate the serious content."

This is not the first time the North has announced a letter from Trump to Kim since the two sides began their denuclearization dialogue last year.

The North Korean media reported about Trump having his letter delivered to Kim in January when the North Korean delegation visited Washington, D.C., in preparation for the Hanoi summit.

But the KNCA report, Sunday, is noteworthy considering Pyongyang has ratcheted up criticism on Washington over the Hanoi summit breakdown and set an end-of-the-year deadline for progress, according to sources familiar with Pyongyang.

The sources raised speculation whether the exchange of the mysterious letters can serve as a catalyst for denuclearization dialogue, especially when Trump is set to meet the leaders of China, Japan and Russia on the sidelines of the G20 summit this week.

Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Pyongyang from June 20 to 21 has further raised hopes that Kim could come out for talks again.

Kim said he will exercise "patience" in efforts to resolve issues on the Korean Peninsula while Xi said he will help address the North's security concerns.

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