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Trump says he would 'love to meet' North Korea's Kim again, could extend visit to do so

Published: 27 Oct. 2025, 17:56

U.S. President Donald Trump meets North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Feb. 27, 2019, in Hanoi. [AP/YONHAP]

U.S. President Donald Trump said he would "love to meet" North Korean leader Kim Jong-un again and could extend his upcoming visit to South Korea later this week to do so.

Trump made the remarks aboard Air Force One while traveling from Kuala Lumpur to Tokyo on Monday during his Asia tour, CNN reported.

“I haven’t mentioned it, I haven’t said anything, but I’d love to meet with him if he’d like to meet,” Trump told reporters on the presidential jet. “I just have a good relationship with him, I would love to see him.”

When asked whether he could extend his schedule for a possible meeting with Kim, Trump replied, “I hadn’t thought of it, but I think the answer would be yeah, I would. [...] It’s our last stop, so it’s pretty easy to do.”

Trump also hinted at potential sanctions relief to encourage North Korea’s engagement. When asked what he could offer to bring Pyongyang to the table, he said, “Well, we have sanctions, that’s pretty big to start off.”

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One while traveling from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Tokyo, Japan, on Oct. 27. [AP/YONHAP]

Trump began his Asia trip with a visit to Malaysia's capital from Sunday to Monday for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit, and is set to make stops in Japan and South Korea. While in Korea, he will attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju and hold bilateral meetings with President Lee Jae Myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

But Trump also signaled his willingness to meet Kim separately during his stay in Korea. On Friday, he said aboard Air Force One that he would be open to meeting Kim at the demilitarized zone if contacted.

“I would. If you want to put out the word, I’m open to it,” he said. “I had a great relationship with him.”

Trump also referred to North Korea as "sort of a nuclear power."

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY LEE SEUNG-HO [[email protected]]