President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday that he would hope to “probably do something at some point” with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, recalling his “very good relationship” with the communist dictator during his first term.”
Trump also confirmed, reporters relayed, that “there is communication” between America and North Korea, which Pyongyang has given no pubic indication exists.
“It started off very rough, very nasty, little rocket man. The whole thing was a nasty deal. And then one day we got a call that they’d like to meet. We met,” Trump noted, referring to the initially tense relationship with Kim.
“(I) got to know him very well. I remember I put my foot across the line, and then I walked across the line,” Trump recalled, referring to becoming the first American president in history to step foot on North Korean soil. During one of their three in-person meetings, Kim met with Trump in 2019 at Panmunjom Village, a meeting site on the border of North and South Korea, and Trump stepped across the border, entering North Korea.
Kim and Trump stopped negotiations in 2019 after Trump walked out of negotiations in Hanoi, Vietnam, claiming the North Korean negotiators were demanding a full lifting of sanctions while making no concessions on their illegal nuclear program, an unreasonable position.
Trump emphasized in his remarks on Monday that he considered Kim Jong-un a “very smart guy” and described North Korea as a “big nuclear nation,” a characterization that has outraged observers in the past as North Korea’s nuclear weapons program is entirely illicit.
File/A pedestrian walks past a screen displaying a news broadcast of the U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un during the the DPRK-USA Hanoi Summit, in Tokyo, Japan, on Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019. (Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg via Getty)
The American president did not clarify what “something” he would hope to do with Kim Jong-un, though he likely was referring to some form of diplomatic talks to discuss North Korea’s illegal nuclear program and the onerous sanctions on his regime as a result. Trump’s remarks were arguably the most significant regarding North Korea since the beginning of his term in January, as the White House has largely prioritized other international issues and North Korea itself has said little about Trump.
North Korean state media, the only legal news source in the country, has not at press time responded to Trump’s comments or given any indication of interest in talks with North Korea. The pages of the flagship Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and state newspaper Rodong Sinmun this week contained the usual communist propaganda, absent any material mention of the United States.
“A new era of socialist cultural efflorescence welcomed by all the people is ushering in the country,” KCNA celebrated this weekend. “The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un is hewing out the sacred revolution for comprehensive development of regions to gratify the long-cherished desire of the people across the country.”
State media has also focused heavily since the beginning of Trump’s term on the blossoming close ties with Russia. Pyongyang welcomed a Russian Communist Party delegation on Tuesday, which performed the ritual worship of Kim’s grandfather, Kim Il-sung, upon arrival. Prior to their arrival, in late March, Kim Jong-un welcomed Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu, a top official under strongman Vladimir Putin to continue talks following Putin’s visit in June, which resulted in the signing of a mutual defense treaty between Russia and North Korea.
Multiple international observers, including the governments of South Korea and Ukraine, have presented evidence that North Korea is an active belligerent party in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, sending as many as 15,000 troops to fight there since late 2024. Pyongyang has not publicly acknowledged any participation in the invasion, despite regularly condemning Ukraine and vocally supporting Russia’s colonialist ambitions. Putin has also not done so, though he suggested including North Korea in Ukraine “peace” talks last week.
In remarks last week, President Trump told reporters that his recent conversation with Putin did not include a discussion on North Korea’s role in the war.
Outside of discussion of Russia ties, Kim Jong-un has not given any indication that he is interested in new talks with Trump. In February, Kim went out of his way to deliver an address blaming America for all “the world’s big and small disputes and tragedies of bloodshed.” While claiming not to seek “unnecessary tension,” Kim said he would “take sustained countermeasures to ensure the regional military balance.”
Later that month, Kim ordered his military to enter “full preparedness” for nuclear war.
The only indication of a once positive relationship with Trump that Kim has offered recently was a friendly note sent to the then-candidate Trump in July following his survival of an assassination attempt. Kim wrote a letter to Trump and his family wishing him a full recovery and safety in the future.
“He sincerely hoped that they would be recovered as soon as possible. He hoped they will surely overcome it,” Kim reportedly wrote.
KCNA published a clarification following the note that Kim and Trump did enjoy “special personal relations,” but that did not mean that Kim supported his presidential campaign, nor did their ties improve U.S.-North Korea relations.
“It is true that Trump, when he was president, tried to reflect the special personal relations between the heads of states in the relations between states,” KCNA conceded in July, “but he did not bring about any substantial positive change.”
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