Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
US President Donald Trump has expressed his desire Meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un During his whirlwind Asia tour.
Mr Trump embarked on a five-day tour of Asia on Friday night, the first of his term, with stops in Malaysia and Japan before concluding the trip. south korea To meet face to face with the Chinese President Xi Jinping aim of reduce trade war,
The only meeting that could eclipse the Xi summit would be a surprise reunion with Mr Kim, the North Korean leader. “I will. If you want to make your point, I’m up for it,” Mr Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
The US President said, “I had a very good relationship with him.”
If realized, the meeting would mark the first summit of the two world leaders since their last summit in the Korean border village of Panmunjom in June 2019. The two leaders met three times during Mr Trump’s first presidency.
Although there has been no confirmation about a possible meeting, speculation has run wild since South Korea’s Unification Minister Chung Dong Young told lawmakers this month that it was possible Mr Trump could meet Mr Kim again in the demilitarized zone.
The new liberal South Korean government has repeatedly urged Mr Trump to take the lead in resuming talks with Mr Kim.
Mr Trump has repeatedly expressed a desire to restore diplomacy with Mr Kim as he boasted about his rapport with the North Korean leader and called him “a smart guy”.
The North Korean leader last month said he was ready for talks with the US president, but only if Washington drops its demands for denuclearization of the reclusive East Asian state.
“Personally, I still have fond memories of the US President [Donald] Trump,” Mr Kim said, naming the US president publicly for the first time since being elected to the Oval Office in January.
Mr. Kim said, “If the United States makes us give up our absurd obsession with denuclearization and accept reality, and want genuine peaceful coexistence, then there is no reason for us not to sit with the United States.”
Since his previous diplomacy with Mr Trump broke down over disputes over US-led sanctions north koreaMr Kim has accelerated the expansion of an arsenal of nuclear-capable missiles designed to attack the US and its allies.
He has also strengthened his diplomatic footprint by engaging with Russia over the war in Ukraine and strengthening ties with China.
north korea Has been under UN sanctions and arms embargo since its first nuclear test in 2006.
With an increased nuclear arsenal, strong diplomatic support from Russia and China and weak enforcement of sanctions, Mr Kim has more leverage and he clearly wants the US to acknowledge North Korea as a nuclear power, a condition necessary for the removal of UN sanctions.
But this would run contrary to the long-standing position of the US and its allies that sanctions would remain in place until North Korea completely abandons its nuclear program.
Koh Yu-hwan, former chairman of South Korea’s Institute of National Unification, told the AP that any meeting between the two leaders at the APEC meeting is unlikely to yield meaningful results.
He said that to bring Mr. Kim back into the conversation, Mr. Trump would have to bring something attractive to the table for him this time.
Even if they do not meet this month, there is still a possibility for the two leaders to resume diplomacy later.