The American president left Washington this Friday (24) for a five-day trip covering Malaysia, Japan and South Korea
(FOLHAPRESS) – United States President Donald Trump said this Friday (24) that North Korea is “a kind of nuclear power” and that he would like to meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un during his visit to South Korea.
Trump left Washington this Friday (24) for a five-day trip covering Malaysia, Japan and South Korea. His first visit to the region since taking office in January.
When asked aboard the Air Force One presidential plane whether he was open to North Korea’s demand to be recognized as a nuclear state as a precondition for dialogue with Washington, Trump responded: “Well, I think they are a kind of nuclear power.”
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“When you say they have to be recognized as a nuclear power, well, they have a lot of nuclear weapons, that’s what I’m going to say,” Trump said.
The president of the United States said on Friday, as he departed for his trip to Asia, that he would like to meet with the North Korean dictator.
“I would like to, he knows we will be there,” Trump told reporters at the White House when asked if a meeting with Kim was possible. “I don’t know, let’s inform him, he knows I will come.”
“I get along very well with him,” Trump added of Kim, with whom he met in 2019 during his first term.
About a month ago, Kim said he would be open to future talks with the United States, but made it a condition that Washington abandon its demand that the Asian country renounce nuclear weapons. Before that, in August, Trump had stated that he would like to meet with the dictator on the grounds that he knew him “better than anyone, almost, with the exception of his sister”.
In recent days, the American press reported that US government officials were privately discussing organizing a meeting between Trump and Kim, although many were skeptical that the meeting would take place.
During his previous term, the US president met with Kim three times before the dialogue process between the two leaders collapsed in 2019 due to disagreements over ending Pyongyang’s nuclear program and lifting sanctions.
South Korea’s unification minister invited Trump to meet Kim Jong-un during his upcoming visit to Asia, urging the two to seize a rare chance for peace, Yonhap news agency said on Friday (24).
Seoul’s top policymaker on inter-Korean relations, Chung Dong-young, said the meeting could help boost the northern neighbor’s global standing and its economy. “The leaders of North Korea and the United States must not miss this opportunity,” Chung told reporters. “They need to make a bold decision.”
North Korea has been under UN sanctions and arms embargoes since its first nuclear test in 2006. Although the punishments have reduced the dictatorship’s funding for military development, the nation has continued to advance in building nuclear weapons and powerful ballistic missiles.
Officials in Seoul, including South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, have been skeptical about the possibility of a new meeting next week, but welcomed the prospect of a breakthrough in diplomacy with Pyongyang if it happens.
Lee took office in June following a snap election called after his predecessor was ousted in December for attempting a coup d’état. At the time, he promised to adopt a more moderate approach towards his neighbor.
