The State Department said President Donald Trump would be willing to meet with anyone if doing so serves the U.S. national interest, a message that leaves open the possibility of renewed talks with North Korea. Tommy Pigott, a State Department spokesman, made the remarks Monday at a briefing at the Foreign Press Center in New York when asked about a possible summit this year between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Pigott called Trump a “deal maker” and said the president always makes decisions based on America’s interests. He said Trump has made clear that he sees dialogue as a necessity, not a concession, and that if meeting someone is in the U.S. interest, the president will do so.
The State Department’s comments were widely read as another signal that the Trump administration remains open to direct talks with North Korea. But Pigott declined to say whether any contact is already under way or whether U.S. officials plan to meet North Korean representatives during the United Nations General Assembly high-level week in New York.
The United States has repeatedly used the U.N. General Assembly to signal that the door to dialogue with North Korea remains open. But it remains unclear whether Washington and Pyongyang will move quickly to direct contact on the sidelines of the global diplomatic gathering.
