Trump, leaders of Koreas may meet soon in US

By Alex Jensen

SEOUL

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha has hinted the leaders of the two Koreas could meet with U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York this September.

It would mark their first trilateral summit, as well as an unprecedented visit by a North Korean leader to the U.S.

Speaking to reporters during his visit to Britain, Kang said: "We cannot rule out (the possible trilateral summit)," according to comments carried by local news agency Yonhap on Thursday.

The North's Chairman Kim Jong-un apparently accepted an invitation by Trump to visit the U.S. when the pair held a groundbreaking denuclearization meeting in Singapore last month.

But critics have questioned Pyongyang's commitment to giving up its nukes given the lack of progress since the Trump-Kim summit on June 12.

Kang insisted the goal of North Korea's complete denuclearization is "unflappable," even if it takes time -- echoing the recent admission by Trump that there is "no time limit" for the North.

She added that diplomatic efforts will be made towards another major ambition on the peninsula -- declaring a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War within this year, as agreed during April's inter-Korean summit.