Trump says he hopes to meet DPRK's top leader this year

US President Donald Trump said on Monday he wanted to meet with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's top leader this year, as the visiting Republic of Korea's new president asked him to play a role in "establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula".

Lee Jae-myung, who took office in early June, arrived in the United States on Sunday, when he also sent a special envoy to Beijing, conveying the new ROK government's message of "attaching great importance to developing relations with China".

Lee, 61, showered Trump with praise at the beginning of their first meeting at the White House.

He lauded the redecorated Oval Office — one of Trump's pet projects — as "very bright and beautiful," portraying the US as a "peacemaker" while framing his country as the "pacemaker", and directly requesting Trump's involvement in inter-Korean diplomacy by proposing a meeting between Trump and the DPRK's top leader Kim Jong-un.

Trump appeared to welcome the compliments as he signaled openness to renewed talks with Pyongyang and expressed optimism about a meeting.

Recalling that he had "a great relationship" with Kim during his previous term, Trump said, "I look forward to meeting with Kim Jong-un in the appropriate future" when asked about possible timing.

Lee has proposed a meeting between Trump and Kim later this year if Trump comes to the ROK for a regional forum meeting, Lee's office said.

Lee's trip to Washington came amid an 11-day annual joint US and ROK military drill, known as Ulchi Freedom Shield, that started a week ago, which Pyongyang said is "disturbing the regional security environment".

"The US and the ROK sides would be well advised to bear in mind that if they continuously persist in the above-said military rehearsal, they will certainly face up the unpleasant situation and pay a dear price," Kim Yong-bok, first vice-chief of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army, was cited by Korean Central News Agency as saying in a statement issued on Monday.

In an analysis published on May 5, Stephen Costello, a non-resident fellow at the Quincy Institute and a non-resident scholar at the Institute for Korean Studies at George Washington University, noted that Trump seemed to want to try again to meet with Kim Jong-un, and perhaps finally strike a mutually beneficial deal.

"A new agreement would be difficult given the history of relations between the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or DPRK," he wrote.

Katrin Fraser Katz, adjunct fellow in the Office of Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Lee has been calling himself a pragmatic leader, so he is taking pragmatic stances on countries such as China, Russia and Japan.

"Lee's stance on China parallels his statements with respect to Russia, seeking to repair damage that he sees having … (come) from the predecessor's administration, which he calls an ideological approach, although (former president) Yoon (Suk-yeol) was also careful to maintain stable ties with China as well," Katz said at a preview of Lee's US trip on Wednesday.

On Sunday, Lee sent special envoy Park Byeong-seug to China. During his meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Park asked Wang to forward the letter from Lee to Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Xi and Lee held a phone call after the inauguration of the new ROK government, agreeing to promote the China-ROK strategic cooperative partnership to a higher level and outlining the direction for bilateral relations in the next step, according to Xinhua News Agency.

Karl Friedhoff, a fellow of public opinion and Asia policy at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, expected Trump will likely pressure the ROK to pay more for its own defense, and during the visit, economic agreements on issues like the ROK's purchase of US agricultural goods and beef products will need to be worked out.

On Tuesday, Korean Air said it had signed a $50 billion agreement to purchase more than 100 new planes and aircraft engines from Boeing and GE Aerospace.

huanxinzhao@chinadailyusa.com