U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed Wednesday evening that he intends to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, saying that the fact that he and the Pyongyang dictator “get along very well,” as he put it, is “a good thing, not a bad thing.”
“He has 57 very powerful nuclear weapons. They should never have been allowed to have them, and if I had been president, I wouldn’t have allowed it. But he has them,” Trump said.
Trump’s statement came hours after it emerged that he had ordered the U.S. Defense Department to significantly shorten the major annual military exercise the United States is currently conducting with South Korea. Earlier this week, Trump had already instructed the military to dramatically reduce the number of U.S. troops taking part in the drill, arguing that it was an inappropriate and hostile act toward Pyongyang, which he said has behaved respectfully and has not posed threats since he took office. The decision to scale back the exercise just hours before it began was met with astonishment in Seoul, a traditional U.S. ally in East Asia.
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Historic summit meeting between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un in Singapore in 2018
(Photo: AFP)
Speaking to reporters Wednesday evening, Trump was asked whether he was exchanging letters with Kim Jong Un. “I can’t tell you that,” the president replied, before adding, “We get along well.” He then said the fact that their relationship is good is a positive development given Kim’s nuclear arsenal.
“I know Kim Jong Un very well, and he’s going to be fine,” Trump said. “As long as we have a smart president, he’ll be fine. If we have a stupid president, he probably won’t be so fine.”
Asked whether he expected to meet with Kim, Trump replied: “Yes, I will meet.”
Reporters also took note of the figure Trump cited for North Korea’s nuclear arsenal — 57 weapons. Over the years, experts have offered varying estimates of the number of nuclear bombs held by Kim’s regime. In June, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimated that North Korea had already accumulated around 60 nuclear warheads and had enough fissile material for at least 30 more.
lack Hawk helicopters in South Korea on the eve of the opening of the exercise
(Photo: YONHAP / AFP)
Trump’s confirmation that he intends to meet Kim Jong Un came hours after The Wall Street Journal reported, citing U.S. officials, that Trump is trying to arrange a meeting with Kim this fall in an effort to revive the unusual personal diplomacy he pursued with him during his first term.
According to the report, Trump has already privately discussed the possibility of holding a face-to-face meeting with Kim during his next trip to Asia, which could take place in November around the APEC summit in Shenzhen, China. The Journal said formal preparations for a summit have not yet begun, but that Trump’s desire for another meeting is clear.
It is not the first time Trump has tried to arrange a meeting with Kim since returning to the White House. According to The Wall Street Journal, during a previous trip to Asia he sought to organize such a meeting on short notice and publicly asked that Kim be told he wanted to talk. U.S. officials told the newspaper that Pyongyang quietly signaled at the time that it was open to the idea, but logistical difficulties prevented the meeting from taking place.
Embarrassment in Seoul: Trump shortened exercise without warning
The renewed efforts to arrange a meeting, together with Trump’s statement Wednesday evening, take on added significance in light of the unusual step he took to reduce tensions with Pyongyang: ordering a major reduction in the annual U.S.-South Korean military exercise.
The South Korean military announced overnight that the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise, which began August 17 and had been scheduled to run through August 27, would instead end Friday, August 21, cutting it from 11 days to just five.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un with military advisors
(Photo: AP)
According to South Korean media reports, the two allies will complete the defensive portion of the exercise this week, but the second phase, which includes counterattack scenarios, will be canceled or postponed. Some field training exercises are also expected to be canceled or delayed. A Pentagon official confirmed that the U.S. military was significantly scaling back the drill in accordance with the president’s directive.
The way the decision was made caused embarrassment in Seoul. South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun revealed overnight during a parliamentary hearing that not only was the South Korean government surprised by Trump’s order, but U.S. administration officials were as well. He said that when Trump suddenly ordered the exercise reduced, officials in both countries had not been informed in advance.
Trump’s order to reduce the number of U.S. troops participating in the exercise was announced hours before it began Monday. The U.S. president said at the time that the drills were “expensive” and sent Pyongyang an inappropriate and hostile message.
He explicitly linked the decision to his “very good relationship” with Kim and said North Korea has not posed threats and has behaved “with respect” during his presidency. He also used the announcement to criticize Seoul for refusing to join U.S. operations against Iran.
North Korean ballistic missile test
(Photo: Reuters)
Despite the surprise, South Korea is also trying to view a possible rapprochement between Trump and Kim as an opportunity. National security adviser to President Lee Jae-myung said this week that Seoul hopes the personal relationship between the two leaders will lead to the resumption of meaningful dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang that could advance stability on the Korean Peninsula. President Lee, meanwhile, stressed that the joint exercises are purely defensive and are not intended to prepare for an attack on the North.
Kim’s sister: ‘The threatening US policy has not changed’
North Korea, for its part, has yet to publicly signal that it is impressed by the gesture. The state-run KCNA news agency again condemned the exercises overnight, called the United States and South Korea “warmongers” and said Pyongyang would continue to exercise its right to self-defense in the face of military threats.
Notably, the statement did not mention Trump himself, his order to scale back the exercise or his renewed attempt to open a channel with Kim.
Kim Yo Jong is considered one of her brothers closest advisors
(Photo: AP)
If a fourth meeting does take place, Trump would be meeting a North Korean leader in a very different position of strength from the one he held during their previous encounters.
The two first met in Singapore in 2018, again in Hanoi in February 2019 and for a third time in June of that year in the Demilitarized Zone between the two Koreas. The Hanoi summit ended without an agreement after the sides failed to reach understandings on dismantling North Korea’s nuclear program and lifting sanctions. Since then, Pyongyang has significantly expanded its nuclear and missile capabilities.
On Wednesday afternoon, shortly before Trump confirmed his intention to meet Kim Jong Un, North Korean state media published remarks by the leader’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, who is considered one of his closest aides and a powerful figure in Pyongyang.
Power couple: The Kim siblings
Kim Yo Jong said the United States’ “hostile policy” toward North Korea had not changed despite Trump’s order to dramatically scale back the exercise with Seoul.
She added that relations between the leaders of the United States and North Korea are “truly excellent,” but said Washington continues to conduct military maneuvers with Seoul and threatens Pyongyang’s national security.
Kim also said she was unaware of any recent communications between the two leaders, even though Trump said this week that he had received a “response” from Kim after ordering the exercise reduced.