The White House and the government of North Korea are preparing for a second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said on Monday that Trump received a letter from Kim last week, asking for another summit.
She said the president thanked Kim for the letter and said he was looking forward to seeing him soon.
"The primary purpose of the letter was to request, and look to schedule, another meeting with the president," Sanders said.
The White House is open to the request and is "already in the process of coordinating."
But White House national security adviser John Bolton sounded a less optimistic note while speaking to conservative group The Federalist Society.
"We're still waiting for them. The possibility of another meeting between the two presidents obviously exists, but President Trump can't make the North Koreans walk through the door he's holding open," Bolton said.
Bolton claimed that when Kim Jong Un met his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae In in late April, Kim had agreed to destroy his weapons arsenal within a year.
"Moon Jae-in said to Kim Jong Un, 'Why don't we do it in one year?' And Kim Jong Un said, 'We'll do it in one year,' the Washington Examiner quoted Bolton as saying at the event.
Kim and Trump met in Singapore for the first time in June for a historic summit.
They agreed in principle to the nuclear disarmament of North Korea, but, according to experts, progress towards the goal has been sluggish.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said last month there are no indications that North Korea has since curbed its nuclear program.
Trump last month abruptly cancelled a planned trip by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Pyongyang, citing a lack of progress on denuclearisation.
But, on Sunday, Trump praised the leadership in North Korea for holding a military parade in Pyongyang without including intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Australian Associated Press
