“There has been persistent speculation that Washington could seek renewed talks with Pyongyang ahead of the November US mid-term elections,” Yang Moo-jin, former president of the University of North Korean Studies, told AFP.
“For Trump, a meeting with … Kim Jong Un could offer a chance to secure a foreign-policy legacy.”
The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed US officials, that Trump is pushing aides to set up a meeting with Kim as soon as this autumn.
“Reducing exercises could have a positive impact on the possibility of US-North Korea dialogue,” Park Won-gon, a professor at Ewha Womans University, told AFP.
“The suspension of joint exercises has always been a prerequisite for North Korea to engage in dialogue with the US,” he added.
Trump and Kim met three times in his first spell in the White House, but they have not held talks during his second term.
The United States stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea to bolster the country’s defences, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War that ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.
Trump has repeatedly criticised longstanding US alliances, casting doubt on Washington’s commitment to security in East Asia and alarming regional partners.
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