US and South Korean officials see the chances fading of a meeting between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un this year, according to five people with knowledge of the situation.
Trump, the only US president to have met a North Korean leader, has been eager to jump-start talks with North Korea, but Pyongyang has shown little interest in diplomacy aimed at containing its nuclear programme.
The US has received no response from North Korea on holding a Trump-Kim meeting, and there is little time left before a regional summit in China next month when it might occur, according to the five people – four of them briefed by senior officials from the US and South Korea, as well as a South Korean official.
North Korean state media has said Pyongyang would put tough conditions on agreeing to a bilateral summit, potentially including sanctions relief, even as Kim’s powerful sister said the two leaders had an “excellent” relationship.