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Trump eyes Kim meeting
President Donald Trump told reporters, “Yeah, I will be,” when asked whether he expected to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un this year, after the Wall Street Journal reported he was pushing for a meeting with the North Korean leader whom Trump previously met with three times in 2018 and 2019.
“Asked whether he was expecting to meet with Kim this year, Trump responded, “Yeah, I will be.””
NBC News reported Trump said he ordered the U.S. military to downsize joint exercises with South Korea, citing his “very good relationship” with Kim and calling the drills “totally inappropriate and hostile.”
Trump said Kim “has 57 very powerful nuclear weapons,” and NBC News noted it was unclear how he arrived at the specific number.
The U.S. does not have formal diplomatic relations with North Korea, and NBC News said no other sitting presidents have met with the country’s supreme leaders, while noting former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton traveled to North Korea after leaving office.
North Korea’s official news agency said Kim’s sister, Kim Yo-jong, was not aware of any recent communication between her brother and Trump.
Allies rattle, Pyongyang reacts
As Trump’s comments about meeting Kim circulated, South Korea and the U.S. moved to adjust joint drills, with France 24 reporting the allies would cut the duration of their annual joint military drills to five days from 11 after Trump ordered a substantial reduction in U.S. participation.
France 24 said South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff stated, “We have decided to adjust the UFS exercise period to run from the 17th to the 21st,” and added the decision was made “at the suggestion of the US side.”
Pyongyang criticized the drills, and France 24 reported Pyongyang’s state media called them a “most immediate and open threat” without mentioning Trump’s order.
In Washington, Trump told reporters, “I know Kim Jong Un very well, and he’s going to be fine as long as we have a smart president,” while Al Jazeera also quoted him saying, “The fact that I get along with him – that’s a good thing, not a bad thing. He has 57 very powerful nuclear weapons.”
Al Jazeera reported North Korea said a U.S. decision to scale back military exercises with South Korea does not change what it sees as the provocative nature of the drills.
What’s at stake next
Trump’s push for renewed personal diplomacy with Kim arrives as the U.S. and South Korea’s security posture shifts, and CNBC reported South Korea’s military said it would cut the annual joint Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise period to Aug. 17 to 21, with the program originally scheduled to conclude on Aug. 27.
“The annual joint Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise period will be reduced to Aug. 17 to 21”
CNBC said the Wall Street Journal reported Trump was pressing aides to arrange a meeting with Kim as soon as this fall, and it added that Trump privately discussed arranging an in-person meeting during his next trip to Asia, likely in November, when he is expected to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China.
The stakes for alliance planning were underscored by Fox News Digital, where Victor Cha said Trump appears to see the drill reduction as “a two for one,” combining pressure on Seoul over investment and burden-sharing with incentives to reopen diplomacy.
Fox News Digital also quoted Jenny Town saying, “This last-minute haphazard way of sending this message really sends a lot of mixed messages, but also creates a lot of angst in the U.S.-South Korea alliance,” tying the decision to uncertainty inside the alliance.
Meanwhile, NBC News said Trump declined to tell reporters whether he and Kim were writing letters to each other again, saying, “I can’t tell you that,” while adding that he got along with the leader and that Kim has 57 nuclear weapons.
