North Korean envoy Kim Yong Chol talks with President Trump
North Korean envoy Kim Yong Chol talks with President TrumpReuters

US President Donald Trump will meet top North Korean negotiator Kim Yong Chol on Friday, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said.

The talks at the White House will focus on North Korean denuclearization, she said, according to the BBC.

Kim is reportedly carrying a letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to Trump.

The North Korean official arrived in Washington, where he met Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, as efforts continue to arrange a second summit between Trump and the North Korean leader.

Trump and the North Korean leader held a historic summit in Singapore last June, during which they signed an agreement which includes a commitment to achieve total denuclearization of Korea, with promises to pursue “vigorous negotiations” to that end.

However, the negotiations have stalled, with reports suggesting that despite its commitment to denuclearize, North Korea has continued to expand infrastructure at nuclear and missile sites.

Pompeo was supposed to meet with Kim Yong Chol in New York in November, but the meeting was abruptly cancelled, and the US explained it was the North Korean side which postponed it because they were not ready.

Despite the stalled negotiations, Trump has remained optimistic that a second summit with the North Korean leader will take place.

The President said earlier this month that Kim had sent him a “great letter” and added, "We really established a very good relationship. We'll probably have another meeting."

Later, Trump said that the US and North Korea are negotiating the location of their next summit.

The US insists that United Nations sanctions must remain in place until North Korea gives up its weapons, while Pyongyang wants them immediately eased.

(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)