US President Donald Trump on Friday hinted that he would personally talk to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Sunday (US time) via direct phone call, but questions remain on whether the exchange will be made in such a manner.

“I‘m going to be actually calling North Korea,” Trump told Fox News in an interview when asked what he planned to do on Father’s Day, without elaborating who he would be speaking to.

The US president also said during an impromptu news conference at the White House that he gave Kim a “very direct number” and that Kim can now call him “if he has any difficulties, I can call him.“

Asked who he would speak to on Sunday, Trump said: “Well, I‘m going to speak to people in North Korea, and I’m going to speak to my people who are over in North Korea.”

His remarks came days after his first and historic summit with Kim in Singapore on Tuesday, where Kim vowed to work towards “complete denuclearization” of the Korean Peninsula, and Trump guaranteed the security of Kim’s regime.

Though speculations are rampant over what both leaders would say on the phone, a diplomatic source here told Yonhap News Agency that the US-North Korea ties have yet to reach the stage of establishing an official hotline. Though there is a possibility of direct communication between Trump and Kim, it may not necessarily be made in the manner of a “direct phone call,” the source added.

Nevertheless, South Korea‘s presidential office Cheong Wa Dae on Saturday called Trump‘s announcement “very important progress” in US-North Korea ties.

By Jung Min-kyung (mkjung@heraldcorp.com)