Rubio: “Trump is ready to talk with Kim Jong Un, but no meeting has been scheduled yet”

[Financial News]  

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on the 31st of last month (local time) that President Donald Trump was ready to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. He added, however, that no meeting had yet been scheduled.
Rubio made the remarks to reporters at the G20 (Group of Twenty) foreign ministers’ meeting held that day in Atlanta, Georgia.
He said, “The president’s view is that if Chairman Kim is ready to discuss issues of concern to our allies, such as the United States and South Korea, the president is open to those discussions,” adding, “As President Trump has said publicly and repeatedly, he is ready for such a meeting.”
Rubio added, however, that “no meeting has been scheduled yet” and that he had nothing to announce on the matter at this time.
He recalled that the president had met with Chairman Kim during his first term and said, “If such a meeting produces productive results, I think the president would be willing to resume such meetings.”
He also stressed that a summit between North Korea and the United States would not be a concession. Rubio said, “In traditional foreign policy, meeting with someone or inviting them to an event is often considered a kind of concession that legitimizes the other side,” but added, “The president does not think that way.”
Meanwhile, Rubio said that the issue of U.S. entry visa denials to some South Korean lawmakers, including the case of Jin Sung-joon, chair of the National Defense Committee and a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), would be resolved through bilateral consultations between the United States and South Korea.
He said, “There was a visa issue involving a particular individual,” adding, “I think it was probably related to actions from several decades ago.” Committee Chair Jin was sentenced in 1991 to three years in prison and a three-year suspension of qualifications for violating the National Security Act.
Rubio said, “We will resolve that issue through bilateral consultations, not at a press conference.”

[email protected] Song Kyung-jae Reporter