US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that possible talks between North Korea and South Korea held mixed potential, while sanctions were beginning to take a toll on Pyongyang amid tensions over its nuclear and missile programs.
“Sanctions and ‘other’ pressures are beginning to have a big impact on North Korea. Soldiers are dangerously fleeing to South Korea,” Trump wrote in a post on Twitter.
Sanctions and “other” pressures are beginning to have a big impact on North Korea. Soldiers are dangerously fleeing to South Korea. Rocket man now wants to talk to South Korea for first time. Perhaps that is good news, perhaps not - we will see!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018
“Rocket man now wants to talk to South Korea for first time. Perhaps that is good news, perhaps not - we will see!” Trump added in reference to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Trump’s tweets come in light of South Korea offering high-level talks with rival North Korea on Tuesday to find ways to cooperate on next month's Winter Olympics in the South.
Seoul’s quick proposal following a rare rapprochement overture from the North a day earlier offers the possibility of better ties after a year that saw a nuclear standoff increase fear of war on the Korean Peninsula.
- With AP
