PRESIDENT Donald Trump is reportedly planning to kick off fresh talks with tyrant Kim Jong-un over North Korea’s alarming nuclear advances.
During his first week in office, Trump announced he would look to rebuild his relationship with Kim after failing to reach an agreement in his first term.
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The president now hopes to strike a deal with the North Korean dictator and could potentially start formal dialogues with the country, which he described as a “nuclear power”.
Senior US officials told Axios that the Trump administration has “closed-door discussions” on potential options to restart talks with North Korea.
One senior official said: “We are convening agencies to understand where the North Koreans are today.
“A lot has changed in the last four years. We are evaluating, diagnosing and talking about potential avenues, including engagement.”
One White House official previously said: “President Trump will pursue the complete denuclearisation of North Korea, just as he did in his first term.”
During his first term, Trump held two high-level summits with Kim Jong-un, but the talks collapsed dramatically.
Now, as Trump stepped back into power, there are no signs of bravado towards Kim.
However, just days before Trump took over the office, Kim vowed to get “tough” with an anti-US policy after calling the nation “the most reactionary state that regards anti-communism as its invariable state policy.”
It comes just a day after Kim unveiled North Korea’s largest naval destroyer that could house a vertical launchpad capable of firing nuclear missiles.
The mighty 5,000-tonne warship is expected to substantially boost North Korea’s naval capabilities in a chilling warning to the West.
North Korea’s state media – which also serves as Kim’s leading propaganda machine – reported that the vessel was equipped with the “most powerful weapons”.
The ship has been graded as the “Choe Hyon-class”, named after anti-Japanese revolutionary fighter Choe Hyon, the report said.
And at over 5,000 tonnes, the destroyer is set to become the largest warship in North Korea’s naval arsenal, surpassing the current largest vessel, a 1,360-tonne frigate.
It was previously reported that North Korea’s new class of warship was able to accommodate dozens of vertical launch cells to carry missiles that its military has already developed.
Military analysts say these launchers will be capable of firing guided cruise missiles, which North Korea says could carry nuclear warheads.
In a chilling threat to the West, Kim said: “If the US continues to renew its record in the protests of military power, we will have no choice but to renew it in the exercise of strategic deterrence.”
Kim also said strong pre-emptive attack capabilities were the most “convincing war deterrent” and that there was no limit to the scope of such attacks.
“The security environment of our country is very serious right now,” the leader was quoted as saying by KCNA while vowing to build a fleet for open-sea operations.
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Kim also said that the United States was deploying strategic assets in the Korean Peninsula regularly.
The B-1B strategic bombers were used in a joint military drill between South Korea and the US earlier this month alongside fighter jets, according to Seoul’s defence ministry.
B-1B bombers have featured regularly in joint military exercises in recent years. North Korea condemns the drills as a rehearsal for war. Seoul says they are purely defensive.
A new nuclear-powered submarine unveiled last month has stoked fears that North Korea is advancing tech that could allow them to strike the US with ballistic missiles.
Pictures released by the state media show the mighty submarine being built at a naval facility.
The tyrant was snapped with his goons at a shipbuilding facility, inspecting the construction of the vessel.
Analysts say, based on the images of the unfinished vessel, that the naval vessel could be a 6,000-ton-class or 7,000-ton-class one which can carry about 10 missiles.
Kim’s secret missile base disguised as golf course
By Katie Davis, Chief Foreign Reporter
SCHEMING Kim Jong-un has constructed a new missile base disguised as a private golf course, satellite images reveal.
Top analysts told The Sun how the James Bond villain-esque golf course features sand traps, grass and putting greens – but they believe they are being used to conceal launch pads and missile caches.
The extent of the North Korean despot’s nuclear and missile programme has long been shrouded in mystery – with stations scattered across the hermit kingdom.
Satellite images reveal Kim’s latest base, however, as he continues to ramp up his weapon development.
The pictures reveal what appears to be a private golf course near a recently demolished Kim family mansion in the Ryokpho district of southern Pyongyang.
Analysts confirmed the base could be used to launch long-range missiles – though appears more operational at the moment.
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