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Trump hints at meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong Un to revive diplomacy
During the US-South Korea meeting, Lee Jae Myung also expressed his desire for Trump to “bring peace to the Korean peninsula.”
US President Donald Trump has said he would like to have a meeting with North Korea's Supreme leader Kim Jong Un. Speaking during a meeting with South Korea's president Lee Jae Myung, the Republican leader expressed that he would “like to meet him [Kim Jong Un] this year”.
"I'd like to meet him this year," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office as he welcomed Lee to the White House for the first time since his win in the presidential elections
“I look forward to meeting with Kim Jong Un in the appropriate future,” Trump added further.
"Someday I’ll see him. I look forward to seeing him. He was very good with me,” Trump told reporters as he praised his relationship with Kim Jong Un. Trump also claimed that he knew him "better than anybody, almost, other than his sister" Kim Yo Jong.
South Korea backs meeting with Kim
During the US-South Korea meeting, Lee Jae Myung also expressed his desire for Trump to “bring peace to the Korean peninsula.”
"I hope you can bring peace to the Korean Peninsula, the only divided nation in the world, so that you can meet with Kim Jong Un, build a Trump World (real-estate complex) in North Korea so that I can play golf there, and so that you can truly play a role as a world-historical peacemaker," Lee told Trump.
With his statement's towards Trump in North Korea, the South Korean president avoided a potential theatrical confrontation over alleged church raids and the trial against former president Yoon Suk Yeol, as well as a repeat of what happened to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Kim Jong Un ignoring Trump's call?
North Korea is yet to respond to Trump's latest remarks. However, North Korean media continues to target Washington for its joint military drills with South Korea.
As per North Korean media, U.S.-South Korea joint military drills proved Washington's intention to “occupy the Korean peninsula” and target countries in the region.
As per a Reuters report, Kim Jong Un has ignored Trump's repeated calls since his return to the White House. The report added that Trump has been calling on North Korea as part of his attempt to revive the direct diplomacy he pursued during his first term as President of the United States.
Back in July, NK News reported that Trump had written a letter to Kim, seeking to open the door for renewed dialogue. However this letter were rebuffed by staff members of North Korea’s U.N. office, a "high-level source” told the North Korea-focused news outlet.
(With agency inputs)
