North Korea-US summit 'possible any time', Seoul says

South Korea's spy agency has assessed that a summit between the United States and North Korea could be possible “at any time” after signs of dialogue, South Korean lawmaker Youn Kun-young said Tuesday.

Youn told reporters the assessment came in a briefing by the National Intelligence Service. He said no facts about concrete contact between the two sides had been presented, but that there were signs of dialogue.

US President Donald Trump said last month that he planned to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un again. Pyongyang's public response has been limited. North Korea has said Kim had “good memories and feelings” about Trump and that the relationship between the two leaders remains “excellent”, but it has not clearly responded to Trump's overtures.

Trump also said in August that it was important to “get along” with Kim and said Pyongyang had 57 “very powerful” nuclear weapons. His remarks came as Washington scaled back joint US-South Korean military drills, a move that raised concern among US allies in Asia.

Hours after Trump's August comments, North Korea fired more than 10 short-range ballistic missiles from the Pyongyang area. Kim Yo Jong, the North Korean leader's sister, later said Trump's decision to scale back the drills with South Korea was Seoul's “comeuppance”.

Separate maritime exercises involving the United States, South Korea and Japan are due to begin on September 7. North Korea has criticised those drills, while Seoul has described them as defensive.

Trump met Kim three times during his first term in summits aimed at reaching a denuclearisation deal, but no tangible progress was made. Trump has since said he is open to another meeting.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has pursued engagement with North Korea since taking office in June 2025, but Pyongyang has rejected Seoul's overtures and has described South Korea as its “most hostile” enemy.