US President Donald Trump has said he hopes to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un again, possibly before the end of the year.
Speaking at the White House on Monday during a meeting with South Korea’s new president, Lee Jae Myung, Trump described his past relationship with Kim as “very good” and suggested that renewed talks could ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
“Someday I’ll see him. I look forward to seeing him.
He was very good with me,” Trump told reporters, adding that North Korea has been firing fewer rockets since he returned to office in January.
President Lee, who took office in June after the impeachment of his predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol, voiced support for Trump’s diplomatic approach.
In a light-hearted remark, he even suggested the idea of building a “Trump Tower” in Pyongyang and playing golf in North Korea, while expressing confidence that Kim would be open to talks.
The White House meeting, however, started on a tense note after Trump criticised what he described on social media as a “purge or revolution” in South Korea linked to political raids. During their talks, Trump downplayed the comment, calling it a “misunderstanding.”
Trump and Kim Jong Un met three times during Trump’s first term, marking an unprecedented level of personal diplomacy between Washington and Pyongyang.
While their meetings reduced tensions, they failed to produce a lasting agreement on North Korea’s nuclear programme.
Pyongyang has so far resisted giving up its weapons and has strengthened ties with Russia, sending troops to support Moscow in the war in Ukraine.
Despite the challenges, Trump said he remains optimistic about restarting dialogue. “I know him better than anybody, almost, other than his sister,” he said of Kim.
Trump also pressed South Korea to contribute more toward the cost of hosting US troops, and raised sensitive issues such as compensation for “comfort women” forced into sexual slavery under Japan’s colonial rule.
The talks highlighted both opportunities and challenges as Trump seeks to revive negotiations with North Korea while balancing delicate regional relations in East Asia.
