(LEAD) PM proposes idea of U.S. sending special envoy to N. Korea in talks with Vance

▲ South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok speaks during a meeting with reporters at the South Korean Embassy in Washington on Jan. 23, 2026. (Yonhap)

▲ South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok (L) and U.S. Vice President JD Vance pose for a photo as they meet for talks at the White House in Washington on Jan. 23, 2026 in this photo released by the prime minister's office. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

(LEAD) PM-Vance-meeting

(LEAD) PM proposes idea of U.S. sending special envoy to N. Korea in talks with Vance

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout; CHANGES headline, lead; ADDS photo)

By Song Sang-ho

WASHINGTON, Jan. 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said Friday that he proposed the idea of the United States sending a special envoy to North Korea as a way to improve relations between Washington and Pyongyang during his talks with U.S. Vice President JD Vance.

Kim presented the idea during the White House meeting as Vance requested his advice on diplomacy with the recalcitrant regime, he said, amid speculation that U.S. President Donald Trump could seek a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un when he visits China in April.

The meeting came on the second day of his five-day trip to the U.S., which marks his first overseas trip as prime minister and the first standalone trip to the U.S. by a South Korean premier since the Asian country's democratization in the late 1980s.

"First, (I told Vance) that in reality, only Trump has the will and capability to improve relations (with North Korea)," he said.

"Secondly, I said that sending a special envoy to North Korea, whoever that may be, can be an approach to express an intent to enhance relations (with the North)," he added.

Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to resume dialogue with Kim, but it remains uncertain whether the North Korean leader will accede to Washington's dialogue overtures at a time of Pyongyang's deepening cooperation with Moscow and Beijing.

During his first term, Trump had three in-person meetings with Kim as a result of his personal diplomacy: the first summit in Singapore in June 2018, the second in Hanoi in February 2019 and the third at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom in June 2019.

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