Trump "remains receptive" to reengaging with South Korean strongman Kim Jong Un, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said.

North Korea is estimated by researchers to already operate three enrichment facilities, two of which have been additionally expanded with annexes housing yet more centrifuges. Collectively, the existing sites are estimated to house over 10,000 centrifuges that produce more than 200 kilograms of weapons-grade uranium-235 every year.

North Korea says it has repaired and relaunched a naval destroyer that capsized during a failed launch attempt, but defense experts remain skeptical about the regime’s claim of a quick recovery.

The 30-minute call comes as Lee, a liberal from South Korea's Democratic Party, seeks to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula. North-South relations are at their most strained in decades amid Kim's frequent ballistic missile tests and North Korean troop deployments to support Russia's war against Ukraine.

North Korea has moved a new warship damaged in a botched launch to a port near the Russian border, a move analysts say could point to a role for Moscow in repairing the vessel.

China has traditionally viewed North Korea as a security buffer and an ideologically aligned neighbor it can dominate.

North Koreans are "not interested" in entering the country, according to a commentary published by state media.

President Donald Trump would welcome communications with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un after having had friendly relations with Kim during his first term, the White House said on Wednesday.