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Seoul, Oct. 3 (AP): North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sent a message of condolence to President Donald Trump and his wife Melania on Saturday, hoping they recover from the Covid-19 disease, state media reported.
“He sincerely hoped they would recover as soon as possible. He hoped they would surely get over it,” reported the Korean Central News Agency. “I send a cordial greeting”.
Trump said Friday that he and his wife tested positive for the coronavirus, and leaders from around the world sent messages of goodwill to the couple.
Kim and Trump once exchanged threats of destruction and rude insults after North Korea in 2017 carried out a series of high-profile weapons tests aimed at acquiring the ability to launch nuclear strikes on the continental US.
Trump had said he would rain “fire and fury” on North Korea and mocked Kim as “little rocket man” on a suicide mission, while Kim replied that he would “tame the mentally deranged insane America with fire.”
But they stopped that rhetoric and instead developed a personal relationship after Kim abruptly approached Trump in 2018 to discuss the fate of his advancing nuclear arsenal.
They met three times in 2018-2019, starting with a summit in Singapore that made Trump the first sitting US president to meet with a North Korean leader since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.
But their meetings made little progress since their second summit in Vietnam in early 2019 ended without any agreement following disputes over US-led sanctions on North Korea.
Before their nuclear talks got to a standstill, Trump said he and Kim “fell in love.”
According to the recently published book by journalist Bob Woodward, “Rage,” Kim, in a letter to Trump, called the President of the United States “his excellency” and said he believed that the “deep and special friendship between us will function as a magic force “.
Some observers said Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis would quell speculation that the two leaders may have planned an “October surprise” by hosting their fourth meeting before the US presidential election in November.
Despite stalled talks, Kim has not lifted his self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests in an apparent effort to keep the possibilities of diplomacy alive. North Korea’s economy is believed to have worsened due to sanctions and the pandemic that forced it to close its border with China, its largest trading partner, in January.
North Korea has said there has not been a single virus outbreak on its soil, a claim widely disputed by foreign experts.
Meanwhile, neighboring South Korea’s daily coronavirus count has remained in double digits for the third day in a row, as authorities called for surveillance during one of the country’s biggest holidays.
The 75 cases added in the last 24 hours brought the country’s total to 24,027 with 420 deaths.
South Korea’s case burden has declined following a spike in new infections between early August and mid-September.
Strict social distancing was blamed for slowing the outbreak.
But concerns about a spike in cases have risen again when South Korea celebrated the traditional Chuseok fall festivities this week, which almost certainly increased public mobility. – AP
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