"I'd love to meet with him if he'd like to meet, I got along great with [Kim]. If he wants to meet, I'll be in South Korea," Trump told reporters on Monday aboard Air Force One while traveling from Malaysia to Japan as part of his Asian tour, which includes South Korea for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the southeastern city of Gyeongju, scheduled for Oct. 31 to Nov. 1.
The remarks came after a similar overture last Friday, when Trump said he would like to meet Kim but was unsure if it would happen. "He knows I'm going there," Trump said, referring to Kim. When asked about a possible meeting, he added, "I'd be 100 percent open. I get along very well" with him, also expressing his willingness to "extend his trip" if a meeting takes place.
He also described North Korea as a "sort of nuclear power," possibly hinting that he might be open to talks with Pyongyang, which has previously demanded that any meeting take place only if it is recognized as a nuclear weapons state.
Despite mounting speculation that the two could meet, many remain skeptical. Adding to the uncertainty, North Korea said the previous day that its Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui is set to visit Russia and Belarus later this week, coinciding with the multilateral gathering here, raising doubts about a potential meeting between Trump and Kim.
Seoul, nevertheless, remains hopeful, preparing for any last-minute developments. Unification Minister Chung Dong-young previously said that North Korea, in an unusual move, recently cleaned and beautified its side of the truce village of Panmunjom, the first such activity this year, which could indicate preparations for such a meeting.
The ministry's spokesperson Koo Byung-sam also said later in the day that the APEC summit would be a "good opportunity" for the meeting.
During this first term, Trump met Kim three times including the one in Hanoi which was terminated with a mere photo-op in 2019.
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