WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump says he expects to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un later this year, raising the possibility of a renewed diplomatic engagement aimed at addressing Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons programme.
Trump, who held three meetings with Kim during his first term, suggested that he maintains a good relationship with the North Korean leader and expressed confidence that future engagement could help manage tensions surrounding North Korea’s growing nuclear capabilities.
“I get along with him very well,” Trump said, while indicating that Kim would be “fine” as long as the United States has what he described as a “smart president.”
Trump also criticised previous U.S. administrations for allowing North Korea to develop its nuclear arsenal, saying the weapons programme should never have been permitted to reach its current level.
A renewed meeting between Trump and Kim would mark a potential return to the high-level diplomacy that characterised Trump’s first presidency. Their previous talks produced unprecedented direct engagement between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader, although they failed to result in a lasting agreement to dismantle North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme.
Any fresh talks would come against the backdrop of continuing concerns over North Korea’s nuclear and missile capabilities and efforts by Washington to prevent further escalation on the Korean Peninsula.
Credit:Fox News
