Why Kim Jong-un declined a meeting with Trump

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Why Kim Jong-un declined a meeting with Trump

Published: 20 Nov. 2025, 00:01

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Jeong Yong-soo

The author is an editorial writer and the director of the Unification and Culture Research Institute of the JoongAng Ilbo.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un stopped all public activity for five days from Oct. 25 to 29. The pause came during a busy period as Pyongyang marked the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Workers’ Party on Oct. 10. China’s Premier Li Qiang and Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council, attended the central military parade. To Lam, general secretary of Vietnam’s Communist Party, and Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith also visited Pyongyang. Kim met each delegation and pledged to expand cooperation.

U.S. President Donald Trump, right, and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un hold hands during an encounter at the Panmunjom truce village along the inter-Korean border on June 30, 2019.. [RODONG SHINMUN]

Kim used the occasion to widen North Korea’s diplomatic engagement. He also packed the month with 27 public activities, including the Defense Development 2025 weapons exhibition and the completion ceremony for Pyongyang General Hospital. In the midst of this schedule, he disappeared for five days, prompting speculation that he needed time for political deliberation. He has, in the past, withdrawn from view before decisions involving summit meetings with Seoul or Washington.

One striking detail is the timing. Kim’s absence coincided with U.S. President Donald Trump’s tour of Asia. Trump departed Washington on Oct. 24 local time and said he would like to meet Kim Jong-un, adding that the North Korean leader knew he was going to be there. Kim stopped public activity soon after that remark and reappeared only after Trump left Korea. During stops in Malaysia, Japan and Korea, Trump referred to Pyongyang as a nuclear power and stressed that he still held sanctions leverage. His comments seemed crafted with Kim’s past statements in mind, including Kim’s Sept. 21 speech at the Supreme People’s Assembly in which he said there would be “no reason not to face each other if the United States abandons its demand for denuclearization.” Trump may also have been recalling how desperately Kim sought sanctions relief at the 2019 Hanoi summit. Trump hinted that he might extend his stay in Korea, but a meeting never materialized.

Trump has repeatedly invoked the memory of his 2019 Panmunjom encounter with Kim. That meeting grew out of a single tweet Trump posted before leaving Japan: “I will be leaving Japan for South Korea (with President Moon). While there, if Chairman Kim of North Korea sees this, I would meet him at the Border/DMZ just to shake his hand and say Hello(?)!” Kim rushed to the border village, where the two held a brief summit. Though it looked spontaneous, Trump had explored the idea days earlier with senior U.S. State Department officials, who warned that contact channels with Pyongyang were limited. Trump then turned to the CIA. The agency pointed to the hotline between the United Nations Command and the North Korean military at Panmunjom, known colloquially as the “pink phone.” North Korea responded through that channel with a condition: It would meet only if then-South Korean President Moon Jae-in did not attend.

It is still unclear whether any direct contact was made through the same channel this time. Yet during a parliamentary intelligence briefing on Nov. 4, Seoul's National Intelligence Service reported that Pyongyang had seriously considered a last-minute summit with Trump. North Korea even reviewed whether to adjust the overseas travel schedule of Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui, who was visiting Russia and Belarus from Oct. 26 to 28. According to the NIS, Pyongyang analyzed the backgrounds of U.S. officials who would accompany Trump if a summit took place.

A meeting during Trump’s visit would likely have dominated global headlines. Some foreign outlets, including CNN, reportedly prepared for live broadcasts from Imjingak near the demilitarized zone, which had been floated as a possible venue. For North Korea, such an encounter could have overshadowed the APEC summit in Gyeongju and put Kim center stage. Trump had already hinted at recognizing North Korea’s nuclear status and signaled flexibility on sanctions, opening the possibility of progress on Kim’s longstanding demands. Domestically, Pyongyang could have portrayed the U.S. president courting Kim and Kim granting that request. The scenario also offered Kim a chance to reclaim status after the humiliation of Hanoi. Simply holding a summit would have been a net gain for North Korea.

Why, then, did Kim decline?

First, North Korea cannot ignore its relationship with China. While Pyongyang relies heavily on Russia for diplomatic and military cover today, China remains its essential patron. Xi Jinping was attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit and holding a major meeting with the United States. If Kim had seized global attention at that moment, Beijing would not have welcomed it. Even a regime that champions autonomy and self-reliance must account for China’s interests.

U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un walk toward the South after greeting each other on the northern side of the military demarcation line at Panmunjom on June 30, 2019. [YONHAP]

Second, Trump had already delivered much of what Kim wanted by labeling North Korea a nuclear power and raising the prospect of easing sanctions. From Pyongyang’s perspective, the concessions were made before any meeting took place. With an eye on the Nobel Peace Prize and a fixed term in office, Trump had little time. North Korea may have calculated that postponing a summit could increase its leverage, allowing Kim to enter future negotiations as the leader of an acknowledged nuclear-armed state.

As Trump left Korea, he said, “I'd come back, with respect to Kim Jong-un.” He blamed scheduling constraints, but the failed meeting inevitably dented his image. North Korea may well view this outcome as proof that its nuclear and missile posture yields political gains. Yet with the next U.S. presidential election in 2028, Kim has only about two years left to engage Trump directly.

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.