Trump Mentions 'Kim Jong-un's Letter' in Call with President Moon: "A Warm Letter Arrived"

[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] On the 18th, during a phone call between the South Korean and U.S. presidents, President Donald Trump first informed President Moon Jae-in that he had received a letter from Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, the Blue House revealed on the 19th.

On that day, a senior Blue House official told reporters, "There was talk of a letter during the (South Korea-U.S. presidential) call," adding, "Before President Moon asked, President Trump brought up that 'a warm letter came from Chairman Kim' first."

The official refrained from commenting on whether specific details such as humanitarian aid to North Korea related to COVID-19 were mentioned. The official said, "South Korea and the U.S. have already actively proposed quarantine cooperation and humanitarian aid to North Korea, and during yesterday's call, nothing beyond that was discussed," adding, "That depends on whether North Korea makes any progressive decisions."

When asked if the issue of the South Korea-U.S. defense cost-sharing, which is currently under negotiation, was discussed during the call, the Blue House official said, "Since the purpose was to congratulate the general election, the defense cost-sharing issue did not come up."

The South Korean and U.S. presidents had already held a phone call on March 25 regarding COVID-19 response. Regarding the reason for another call less than a month later, Blue House spokesperson Kang Min-seok explained, "President Trump revealed the reason he directly proposed the call," stating, "During the call, President Trump used the expression 'my friend' toward President Moon and said the call proposal had 'one purpose,' which was to congratulate the election results." He added, "In fact, President Trump frequently expressed congratulations with various rhetoric throughout the call," and "After the congratulatory message on the general election, the conversation naturally continued with high praise for South Korea's COVID-19 response."

The Blue House revealed a photo of U.S. President Donald Trump signing a graph of the vote percentages by party in the 21st National Assembly election, which was received from the Korean Embassy in the United States on the 18th. (Photo by the Blue House)

The Blue House also released a congratulatory message handwritten by President Trump on a graphic showing the distribution of seats by party in South Korea's recent general election, which read, "President. Congratulations. A great WIN!" This was written by President Trump in the Oval Office in front of Vice President Mike Pence, National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien, and other cabinet members before the call between the two leaders, and was delivered through the South Korean Embassy in the U.S.

Additionally, President Trump expressed gratitude for the COVID-19 diagnostic kits exported by South Korea and asked, "I heard that oxygen ventilator supplies are going well in the U.S. these days. Does South Korea need oxygen ventilator supplies?" the official said. President Moon also expressed thanks and replied, "If needed, we will request them."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.