The acting U.S. ambassador to South Korea said Friday that options for a peace plan with North Korea remain open.
He described President Donald Trump as a "peacemaker" willing to pursue unconventional approaches toward Pyongyang.
Kevin Kim, speaking at a Korea-U.S. Alliance Foundation forum in Seoul, South Korea, said his job is "to increase the number" of peace options for Trump, "because he is the deciding one."
"Given my experience working for the president on North Korea, one must always talk to the fact that he is the peacemaker himself," said Kim, who took office last month.
"He can take approaches that have not been tried before."
Kim previously handled working-level negotiations on nuclear talks with North Korea during Trump's first term.
Trump met North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un three times: in Singapore in June 2018; in Hanoi, Vietnam, in February 2019; and in Panmunjom, a village inside the Demilitarized Zone that hosts a "Joint Security Area," in June 2019.
"I never want to say 'never' about any possible options moving forward," Kevin Kim said.
"On the Korean Peninsula, whichever path that's taken will be based on ensuring the security of the Korean Peninsula."
Trump reportedly has made repeated calls for another meeting with Kim Jong Un, including during a trip to Asia last month, but there has been no public response from Pyongyang.
The North Korean leader has previously said he could be open to talks if the U.S. stops pressing him to abandon nuclear weapons.
South Korean officials reportedly hope Trump's renewed openness will break the long stalemate between the two Koreas.
Kevin Kim said the U.S. will maintain its commitment to extended deterrence.
"At the core, our presence here continues as an enduring commitment," he said, referring to the roughly 28,500 U.S. troops on the peninsula.
"With respect to specific capabilities, the U.S. will continue to provide extended deterrence, and that is our policy moving forward."
He also described a joint fact sheet issued after the summit last month between Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung as a "historic document."
The agreement includes South Korea's pledge to raise defense spending to 3.5% of gross domestic product and allocate $25 billion to purchase U.S. weapons systems.
It also outlines expanded economic cooperation, from targeted U.S. tariff reductions to major South Korean investment in American shipbuilding and strategic technologies.
"America's future depends on Korea, and Korea's future depends on America," Kevin Kim said, praising Seoul as a model ally willing to bear a greater share of the defense burden.
"Ultimately, what matters is that we strengthen deterrence on the Korean Peninsula and the Indo-Pacific region."
The alliance is evolving beyond countering North Korea's nuclear threat to addressing broader regional challenges, including China's growing military power.
That includes discussions over whether U.S. forces in Korea would be involved in a potential conflict over Taiwan.
"I can't speak to the probabilities," Kevin Kim said of a possible Chinese move on Taiwan in 2027.
"All I know is that the Chinese military is in the middle of a historic buildup. ... Whatever happens, I know that the president is interested in preserving peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait."
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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