SEOUL, October 13 (AJP) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday raised the possibility of meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during his visit to Asia next month for regional summits.
Asked by White House reporters whether he planned to meet Kim during the trip, Trump responded: “I may. I may. That will be exciting, won’t it?” He added: “But I get along with him.”
Trump is scheduled to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Manila on Nov. 16 before traveling to Shenzhen, China, for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation events. The APEC leaders’ meeting is set for Nov. 18–19.
Trump has repeatedly invoked his good relationship with Kim as he seeks to revive the personal diplomacy of his first term. In August, he expressed hope for a meeting later this year. At a rally in Ohio on Saturday, he again stressed the importance of maintaining good relations with leaders of nuclear-armed countries.
Pyongyang has meanwhile continued its weapons tests. South Korea’s military said the North fired multiple ballistic missiles toward the sea off its east coast on Monday, its fourth launch in a month. North Korean state media said Tuesday that a tactical ballistic missile test had verified an upgrade to a key component.
Trump and Kim met three times during his first presidency - in Singapore in June 2018, in Hanoi in February 2019 and at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom in June 2019.
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