White House officials are discussing a potential meeting between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during the president’s trip to Asia later this month. The development was first reported by CNN over the weekend.
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The Trump administration has not begun formal arrangements at this point, nor has there been direct communication between the U.S. and North Korea, sources familiar with the discussions told CNN. An earlier attempt to arrange a meeting reportedly failed earlier this year after Trump’s offer was rejected by Pyongyang.
Prior developments
This summer, the president showed interest in meeting Kim after hosting South Korean President Lee Jae Myung at the White House.
Trump met with Kim during his first term in 2019 along the Demilitarized Zone that separates South and North Korea. It was the first time a sitting U.S. president set foot on North Korean soil. That meeting came as Trump tried unsuccessfully to get Pyongyang to curb its nuclear ambitions.
Kim has also expressed openness to meeting with Trump again, but only if the “U.S. drops its hollow obsessions with denuclearization.”
Trump’s trip to Asia
Trump leaves for Asia on Oct. 29. The trip is expected to be largely focused on negotiations with China to ease an ongoing trade dispute.
The White House has not commented on the potential meeting between Trump and Kim. Any potential location or when the meeting may occur is unclear at this time.
The reported talks among White House officials come as South Korea’s new president has vowed to develop a more peaceful relationship with the North. So far, he has yet to make a breakthrough, following his predecessors’ more aggressive approach to the Kim regime.
