By Lee Min-hyung

U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton

U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton, Tuesday, reaffirmed Washington's willingness for a second summit with North Korea.

This raised speculation that North Korea and the United States are preparing to hold their second summit sometime early next year, seeking a breakthrough in their stalled discussions on complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

"We have indicated to the North Koreans that U.S. President Donald Trump is prepared to have a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un after the first of the year," Bolton told reporters on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Singapore.

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North Korea is yet to publicize detailed plans for a possible second summit with the U.S. But Kim last month agreed with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on holding working-level talks at the earliest possible date to fine-tune summit schedules.

The outlook for smooth progress of the Washington-Pyongyang dialogue looked optimistic until last week, when both sides decided to postpone high-level talks between Pompeo and Kim Yong-chol, vice chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea.