Trump's birthday letter to Kim might not be enough to save North Korea talks

(Image credit: KIM WON JIN/AFP via Getty Images)

Birthday wishes don't solve everything, apparently.

In a statement published Saturday by North Korean state media, Kim Kye Gwan — a foreign ministry official and top adviser to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un — said Pyongyang has been "deceived" by the United States and will not engage in talks similar to the one between President Trump and Kim that took place last year in Vietnam. The statement said past denuclearization negotiations with Washington amounted to nothing but "lost time" for North Korea.

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The adviser also had some harsh words for South Korea, whom he accused of meddling in U.S.-North Korea relations after Seoul announced Trump had asked South Korea to help deliver the birthday message. Read more at CNN and The Hill.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.