Trump tells South Korean president he will meet Kim Jong Un: 'I know him better than anybody'

WASHINGTON DC: President Donald Trump said he wants to revive his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in Seoul.

The discussion followed Jae Myung’s observation that Pyongyang had continued developing its nuclear and missile programs during the years Trump was out of office after the 2020 election.

Donald Trump signals interest in new North Korea talks with Lee Jae Myung

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung expressed hope that Donald Trump would “usher in a new era of peace on the Korean peninsula.” Trump responded, “I will do that, and we'll have talks. He'd like to meet with me.”

Trump added that Kim Jong Un had avoided meeting with Joe Biden, saying, “He didn't want to meet with Biden because he had no respect for Biden, but we look forward to meeting with him, and we'll make relations better.” He also recalled his past interactions with the North Korean leader: “Kim Jong Un and I had a very great relationship… and still do.”

“In fact, someday I'll see him. I look forward to seeing him. He was very good with me. We had two meetings, we had two summits. We got along great. I know him better than you do. I know him better than anybody, almost other than his sister,” Trump said.

Trump recalls his press conference moment with Kim Jong Un

Trump suggested he would attend this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Seoul and hinted he might “sneak away” to “do something” for relations between North and South Korea, which remain technically at war since the 1950s.

“I get along great with Kim Jong Un and whatever I can do, having to do with South Korea and getting people together,” Trump said.

Trump also joked about his “first” and “different” press conference with Kim Jong Un. He recalled asking Kim, “Have you done a press conference?” and said Kim bluntly replied, “no.” Trump described Kim’s performance as “great.”

He continued, “I said, ‘Would you like to meet the fake news?’ He goes, ‘Whatever you want to do.’ Then he said... ENOUGH. And that was the end of the press conference — it ended very rapidly.” 

Trump questions the situation in South Korea  

Donald Trump’s stated desire to meet with Kim Jong Un again came just hours after he posted on social media questioning South Korea’s internal stability ahead of his White House meeting with President Lee Jae Myung.

"WHAT IS GOING ON IN SOUTH KOREA? Seems like a Purge or Revolution," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "We can't have that and do business there." South Korea's presidential office said it was reviewing the situation following Trump’s remarks, according to Yonhap News Agency.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said he had "heard" reports of “very vicious raids on churches by the new government in South Korea, that they even went into our military base and got information.”

"They probably shouldn't have done that, but I heard bad things. I don't know if it's true or not. I'll be finding out," he said. Trump added that he looked forward to meeting with Lee, but warned, "we won't stand for that. We just won't stand for that."

Kim Jong Un, 41, has ruled North Korea since the death of his father, Kim Jong Il, in 2011. Under his leadership, the country has continued advancing its nuclear and ballistic missile programs in defiance of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions.

Trump was the first sitting US president to meet a North Korean leader, when he met Kim in Singapore in June 2018. They met again at a summit in Hanoi in March 2019, and in June 2019 Trump briefly crossed into North Korea at the Demilitarized Zone in a historic moment. 

Internet reacts to Trump’s remarks on Kim Jong Un

Social media users weighed in after Trump spoke about reconnecting with the North Korean leader. One person wrote on X, “Trump will claim he settled this war too.”

Another user wrote, “Endlessly Embarrassing.”

A third comment read, “Trump signals openness to direct diplomacy with Pyongyang, continuing a pattern of personal engagement with Kim Jong Un.”

“Politics truly never fails to surprise,” another user wrote in reaction.

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