Pyongyang: There is a special relationship between Kim and Trump

In a statement carried by the state-run KCNA news agency, North Korean Foreign Ministry adviser Kim Kye Gwan said Kim Jong-un told him a few days ago that “the relationship between him and President Trump is special.”

“I sincerely hope that a motive force to overcome all the obstacles between the DPRK and the US and to advance the bilateral relations in the better direction will be provided on the basis of the close relationship,” the adviser said, referring to the official name of North Korea.

Contrary to Trump, he added, “Washington political circles and DPRK policy-makers in the US administration are hostile to the DPRK for no reason, preoccupied with the Cold War mentality and ideological prejudice.”

The statement said Pyongyang would see “how wisely the US will pass the end of the year.”

In June, four months after the failed Hanoi summit with Trump, Kim Jong-un set an end-of-the-year deadline for the United States to reconsider its approach in negotiations.