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S. Korea Pushes For Cooperation With North, Despite Rejection, Insults

William Gallo

   SEOUL - It was a relatively modest step: South Korea would relay
   birthday greetings from U.S. President Donald Trump to North Korean
   leader Kim Jong Un, who turned 36 last week.

   Even if it was not likely to lead to a breakthrough in U.S.-North Korea
   talks that have been frozen for months, South Korea's decision to pass
   on the message could help prove the negotiations are not dead and
   possibly revive Seoul's role as a mediator.

   It didn't work as planned. North Korea's foreign ministry on Saturday
   said it already received the birthday message and lashed out at Seoul's
   "presumptuous" attempt to "meddle in the personal relations" between
   Trump and Kim.

   The statement, delivered by senior diplomat Kim Kye Gwan, mocked South
   Korea for still holding onto its "lingering hope for playing the role
   of 'mediator.'"

   The biting tone of Kim's remarks is difficult to convey in English,
   says Kim Jeong-min, who covers the Koreas for the Seoul-based NK News,
   a North Korea-focused publication. "

   But it sounds something similar to 'Trump and Kim are better friends
   than you guys and your fear of missing out is laughable,'" she says.

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