US President Donald Trump has said he is willing to meet North Korea’s Kim Jong while travelling through Asia later next week, raising the prospect of a fresh round of personal diplomacy between the two leaders.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One as he departed Washington, Trump said he remains open to holding a conversation with Kim if the opportunity arises on the trip. “If you want to put out the word, I’m open to it,” he said, adding that he “had a great relationship” with the North Korean leader in the past.
A renewed encounter would mark their first face-to-face meeting since 2019, when Trump stepped briefly into North Korea at the Demilitarised Zone, a moment that made him the first sitting US president to enter the country.
The president’s itinerary begins in Malaysia for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit before he continues to Japan. He is expected to arrive in South Korea mid-week ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation gathering.
South Korea’s Unification Minister, Chung Dong Young, told reporters there is a “considerable chance” the two leaders might see each other while Trump is in Busan, citing the region’s persistent security concerns.
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North Korea has expanded its arsenal significantly since the last Trump-Kim summit in Hanoi collapsed without a deal. Pyongyang has tested several long-range ballistic missiles in recent years, insisting its security relies on nuclear deterrence.
Asked whether Washington would formally acknowledge North Korea as a nuclear power, Trump replied “They are sort of a nuclear power. They got a lot of nuclear weapons, I’ll say that.”
Kim, meanwhile, has said he remains willing to meet again if Washington stops what he called its “absurd” insistence that Pyongyang abandon its nuclear programme entirely. State media recently quoted him saying “I still have a good memory of President Trump.”
Trump’s schedule also includes a meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping as trade discussions continue. Washington and Beijing recently paused a sweeping tariff escalation, though the pause appears fragile. Trump has threatened a 100 percent levy on Chinese goods in response to restrictions on rare earth mineral exports.
A senior official in the US delegation cautioned that a meeting with Kim is not currently in Trump’s formal schedule. However, previous encounters have happened on short notice, including Trump’s invitation via social media that preceded the 2019 DMZ handshake.