U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday suggested that a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is unlikely to take place during his two-day visit to South Korea, despite recent speculation about a possible fourth summit between the two leaders.
Speaking at the start of summit talks with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung at the Gyeongju National Museum, Trump said the timing did not align.
“I know Kim Jong-un very well. We get along very well,” Trump said, according to Yonhap News Agency. “We really weren’t able to work out timing.”
Trump arrived in South Korea earlier in the day to attend Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) events and hold bilateral discussions with President Lee. His visit had sparked expectations that he might attempt to revive personal diplomacy with Kim, especially as he has recently expressed openness to resuming talks on North Korea’s nuclear program.
The two leaders previously held three historic meetings — in Singapore (2018), Hanoi (2019), and Panmunjom (2019) — aimed at negotiating denuclearization in exchange for U.S. sanctions relief. Talks ultimately stalled over disagreements on sequencing and verification.
Trump also referenced the unresolved status of the Korean War, which ended in 1953 with a ceasefire, not a peace treaty.
“I know you are officially at war, but we will see what we can do to get that all straightened out,” he said.
He added that future discussions with Pyongyang remain possible, saying, “We’ll have other visits, and we’ll work very hard with Kim Jong-un and with everybody on getting things straightened out.”
Meanwhile, North Korea has not publicly responded to recent diplomatic overtures. Just a day earlier, the North test-fired nuclear-capable cruise missiles, a move analysts say signals little interest in returning to negotiations at this stage.
Short Summary
Trump says no meeting with Kim Jong-un will take place during his South Korea visit, citing scheduling issues, though he maintains openness to future talks. The remarks come amid renewed interest in resuming diplomacy and North Korea’s recent missile tests.
Recent Random Post:
