South Korea’s National Intelligence Service told a closed-door meeting of Seoul’s intelligence committee that Kim Jong Un discussed the possibility of meeting US President Donald Trump during Kim’s visit to the Chinese border city of Dandong, DW reports. The disclosure is the latest evidence of possible renewed US-North Korea diplomacy, but it does not establish that a summit has been agreed or that negotiations have begun.
DW reports that Kim’s discussion was raised after Trump indicated he would like to resume talks, while North Korea has made no official response to Washington’s signals. Suggestions of a possible meeting during Trump’s expected November visit to China remain speculation rather than an announced diplomatic arrangement.
The available evidence also shows why Seoul is concerned about its role. DW reports that South Korean politicians fear Washington could pursue an agreement that addresses North Korea’s long-range nuclear missiles while leaving shorter-range weapons capable of threatening South Korea and Japan. Those are concerns about a possible outcome, not terms adopted by either Washington or Pyongyang.
The Korea Herald’s October 28 reporting provides supporting context but also significant limits on what can be concluded. It reported that Kim’s Dandong visit, which included senior North Korean and Chinese officials, prompted speculation that Beijing could help arrange US-North Korea talks. South Korean officials acknowledged that possibility, while Foreign Minister Cho Hyun cautioned against firm conclusions and confirmed that Beijing had not notified Seoul of the visit in advance. The Korea Herald also reported that US experts doubted Beijing would undertake the diplomatic work needed to produce a summit and noted North Korea’s lack of a visible response to Trump’s overtures.
The immediate development is therefore an intelligence-reported possibility of contact, not a changed alliance commitment or confirmed negotiating process. Seoul’s fear of being sidelined is documented, but the fetched reporting does not prove that South Korea has been excluded from an actual US-North Korea process. Whether the reported discussion develops into talks, and what role Seoul would have, remains unresolved.