NAIROBI, Kenya – US President Donald Trump has said he would be open to meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during his upcoming visit to Asia — a possible revival of one of the most unconventional diplomatic relationships in modern politics.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One ahead of his departure, Trump said he “would” meet Kim if an opportunity arose.
“If you want to put out the word, I’m open to it,” Trump said, adding that he “had a great relationship” with the North Korean leader.
The remarks come as Trump embarks on a trip to Malaysia and Japan, where he is expected to meet several world leaders, including China’s Xi Jinping, amid ongoing trade negotiations following Washington’s imposition of sweeping tariffs earlier this year.
Trump, who made history in 2019 as the first sitting US president to step into North Korea, has long touted his personal diplomacy with Kim as a breakthrough in US–North Korea relations.
During his presidency, the two leaders met three times, though talks ultimately collapsed without an agreement on denuclearisation.
Since then, North Korea has continued to expand its missile programme, conducting multiple intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests in recent years, according to regional governments.
Asked whether he would recognise North Korea as a nuclear power, Trump responded:
“I think they are sort of a nuclear power… They got a lot of nuclear weapons, I’ll say that.”
Kim, for his part, has also left the door open to renewed dialogue — albeit on his own terms.
Last month, he said he would consider meeting Trump again if Washington dropped what Pyongyang has called “absurd” demands for North Korea to abandon its nuclear arsenal.
“I still have a good memory of President Trump,” Kim said in remarks carried by state media.
South Korea’s Unification Minister, Chung Dong-young, told AFP that there was a “considerable” chance the two leaders could meet while Trump attends the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in South Korea.
A potential reunion between Trump and Kim would mark their first meeting since 2019 and could reshape the regional diplomatic landscape as tensions simmer on the Korean Peninsula.
