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Trump seeks Kim meeting
U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters on Wednesday, “Yeah, I will be,” as he said he plans to meet North Korea’s Kim Jong Un later this year and described Kim as “gonna be fine.”
“When asked on Wednesday if he expected to meet Kim later this year, Trump responded: "Yeah, I will be."”
Trump also said North Korea has 57 “very powerful nuclear weapons,” and he linked the push for diplomacy to his decision to cut short joint military exercises with South Korea, saying they sent a message to Pyongyang that was “totally inappropriate and hostile.”
The remarks came after Trump said on Monday he had received a response from Kim following his attempts to reengage, and after the Wall Street Journal reported Trump was pushing aides to arrange an in-person meeting with Kim as soon as this autumn.
Reuters reported that Trump’s comments followed Kim Yo-jong saying she was unaware of any recent communications between the two leaders, while Trump said he knows Kim “very well” and expects matters with the country to be “fine.”
Kim Yo-jong casts doubt
Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korea’s supreme leader, said she knew “absolutely nothing” about supposed communications between Trump and Kim, while also saying the U.S. remained an enemy of Pyongyang.
In her statement carried by North Korean state media, Kim Yo-jong said, “The United States’ hostile policy toward the DPRK has not changed,” and she added that the U.S. was “vigorously carrying out hostile military activities against the DPRK even at this very moment.”
Trump, questioned further during a press gaggle in front of Marine One, declined to say whether he was in direct contact with Kim but reiterated, “I know Kim Jong-un very well and he’s gonna be fine.”
The Guardian reported that Kim Yo-jong also cast doubt on whether her brother had secretly been in communication with Trump, saying, “Perhaps it is the only matter I do not know about in relation to our supreme leadership’s foreign policy.”
APEC timing and regional fallout
Multiple outlets tied Trump’s planned meeting to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China, with the Wall Street Journal reporting Trump was pushing aides to set up an in-person meeting with Kim potentially during a trip to Asia in November.
“Asked by a reporter at the White House if he expects to meet with Kim later this year, Mr. Trump replied, "Yeah, I will be."”
NBC News said Trump confirmed he plans to meet Kim this year and noted that the U.S. does not have formal diplomatic relations with North Korea, while also reporting Trump declined to tell reporters whether he was exchanging letters with Kim again.
The Reuters account placed the diplomacy alongside Trump’s order to cut short joint military exercises with South Korea, and it said the U.S. move came just after Kim Yo-jong said the relationship between the leaders was “truly great” while Washington continued the drills with Seoul.
In the background of the meeting talk, CNBC reported South Korea’s military said it would cut an annual joint military exercise with the U.S. by about half, with the annual joint Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise period reduced to Aug. 17 to 21 and originally scheduled to conclude on Aug. 27.
