Donald Trump says he got another 'beautiful' letter from North Korea's Kim Jong Un
WASHINGTON – While disclosing he had received another "very warm" letter from Kim Jong Un, President Donald Trump said Tuesday he holds out hope for another summit with the North Korean leader.
Still seeking to reach some kind of agreement with Kim regarding his nuclear weapons programs, Trump also cited news reports that Kim's assassinated half-brother Kim Jong Nam once served as a CIA asset in North Korea.
"I wouldn't let that happen under my auspices," Trump said at the White House before leaving for campaign stops in Iowa.
Trump did not disclose the contents of his new letter from Kim, but said it was "beautiful" and that he still hopes for some kind of agreement over his nuclear weapons, possibly as part of a third summit with the North Korean leader.
“We have a very good relationship together," Trump told reporters at the White House, adding that "I think that something will happen that's gonna be very positive" despite the collapse of a summit with Kim in February.
“In the meantime," Trump said, "he’s kept his word ... that’s very important."
Trump's suggestion he would not allow the CIA to gather intelligence on Kim's regime drew scorn from critics. They compared it to past Trump comments suggesting he believed Russia's denials that it interfered in the 2016 presidential election.
"The president is siding with a murderous dictator over his own intelligence agencies - again," said Matthew Miller, a Justice Department spokesman during President Barack Obama's administration.
Trump defended his relationship with Kim despite evidence that North Korea has resumed testing of nuclear weapons programs and reports that he has tortured aides .
Trump discounted reports of abuse of aides and said he believes the testing does not involve nuclear testing or involve long-range missiles.
Trump and Kim have exchanged letters before, developments that drew criticism from lawmakers suspicious of North Korea's intentions. Trump said in September that he and Kim "fell in love" because of the North Korean leader's "beautiful letters."
Taking an array of foreign policy questions, Trump also insisted he has a "secret agreement" Mexico designed to stop illegal migration, brandishing a folded paper he pulled from his jacket pocket.
"That’s the agreement that everybody says I don’t have," Trump said of the piece of paper, which he did not hand out. "I’m going to let Mexico do the announcement at the right time.”
Trump withdrew a tariff threat against Mexico on Friday evening after he said the two countries reached a deal over how to address the flow of Central American migrants approaching the southern U.S. border.
Mexican officials said they do not know of any such new agreement beyond the one Trump announced on Friday.
Trump also said he expects to meet with China President Xi Jinping at a G-20 summit at the end of the month in Japan. He said he would hit China with more tariffs if the meeting does not take place.
"My relationship with President Xi of China is a very good one," he said.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Donald Trump says he got another 'beautiful' letter from North Korea's Kim Jong Un
