With Donald Trump’s Asia tour now officially in full swing, the US President had high hopes of meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during his trip.
However, despite being keen to build bridges with the secretive nation, it appears that Kim himself isn’t quite so keen.
Prior to embarking on his Asia tour, which will see Trump visit nations including Malaysia, South Korea, and Japan, the president had expressed his hopes of a meaningful meeting with Kim Jong Un.
Speaking on board Air Force One on his way to the first stop of Malaysia, he told reporters: "I just had a good relationship with him.
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"I would love to see him, if he wants to, if he even gets this message. We haven't mentioned anything, but he knows I'm going over there. If he'd like to meet, I'd love to meet him."
Hoping for a little assistance from the media, he then added: “If you want to put out the word, I'm open to it.”
The renewed interest in pursuing a friendship with the totalitarian leader marks a stark change for Trump, after he previously taunted him during his first term as President, by referring to Kim repeatedly as ‘little rocket man’ for threatening to exercise North Korea’s nuclear capabilities.
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Although Trump has shared his desire to visit his North Korean counterpart multiple times, as of Tuesday, the offer has been met repeatedly with a telling radio silence, with both US and South Korean officials confirming that no concrete plans had been made for any kind of meeting.
However, Trump is keen to coax Kim to the table by discussing sanctions, which have been in place internationally against North Korea over its use of ballistic missiles.
"That's pretty big to start off with," he said. "I would say that's about as big as you get.”
Interestingly, despite the lack of a response from Kim, the North Korean leader had previously expressed a willingness to engage with the US – but only on one condition.
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Speaking last month, Kim signalled an openness to meeting Trump so long as the US abandoned its demands for the country to surrender its nuclear arsenal. He also point-blank refused to engage with neighbors South Korea, a key US ally.
"Personally, I still have fond memories of U.S. President Trump," Kim said in a speech, according to the Korean Central News. "If the United States drops the absurd obsession with denuclearising us and accepts reality, and wants genuine peaceful coexistence, there is no reason for us not to sit down with the United States."
There is currently no indication that any such talks are likely to happen during Trump’s visit to Asia this week – something which may also serve as an unexpected blow to South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung, who had hoped Trump could serve as the catalyst to reopen discussions between North and South Korea.
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Lee, who came into office in June following the ousting of Yoon Suk Yeol for declaring martial law in December 2024, had hoped that Trump’s intervention could help to ease increasing tensions between North and South Korea and avoid the need for any further escalation on the border.
Although no response has yet been given to Trump’s offer, Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, who handles relations with the North, said Pyongyang was ‘likely’ to issue a statement on Tuesday or Wednesday.
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun told parliament on Tuesday that one key aspect of the offer that could bring Kim to the table, is Trump’s reference to North Korea as a 'nuclear power' and the possibility of lifting sanctions.
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Although North Korea cannot yet call the US an ally, it has been gradually building its presence on the international stage since 2018, by forming a military alliance with Russia and strengthening existing ties to neighbouring China.
Given Trump’s seemingly amicable relationship with both China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin, if Trump is able to pull off his meeting, it could signal a huge shakeup for international politics.
Topics: Donald Trump, Kim Jong-un, North Korea, Politics, World News
Phoebe Tonks