US President Donald Trump has expressed interest in meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un later this year, but Pyongyang has responded coolly, according to Reuters. Trump said on Wednesday that he expected to meet Kim within the year after reducing the scale of joint US-South Korean military exercises, which he described as hostile to North Korea.

A source familiar with US and South Korean discussions said Trump wants to restart talks with North Korea and secure a diplomatic achievement internationally. South Korea has privately shown a positive attitude toward the approach, the source said, although officials in Seoul remain doubtful about reducing the joint drills. Trump may attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China, later this year, where a meeting could be possible if North Korea becomes interested in renewed talks.

The US State Department said Washington was prepared to talk with North Korea without preconditions. Kim Yo Jong rejected the view that scaled-back drills represented goodwill, said US policy remained hostile, and denied recent contact between the leaders. South Korea's military said North Korea launched about 10 ballistic missiles toward its eastern coast on Thursday.