Trump says he may meet Kim Jong Un during November Asia visit

US President Donald Trump said on October 12 that he may meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a visit to Asia in November. Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump left the possibility open when asked whether he planned to meet Kim. He said such a meeting would be exciting and that he had got along well with the North Korean leader, according to Newsis. [ 6 , 13 , 20 ]

Trump plans to travel to Shenzhen, China, for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit on November 18–19. He has repeatedly expressed a wish to meet Kim before the end of the year. He did not provide a specific meeting schedule or disclose whether there had been advance contact with North Korea, Dong-A Ilbo reported. Korea Economic Daily also reported that he gave no additional details about arrangements. [ 5 , 6 , 16 , 20 ]

South Korea's ambassador to the United States, Kang Kyung-wha (강경화), told a parliamentary audit that there were no concrete signs of a resumption of US-North Korean dialogue, while saying the possibility remained, Newsis reported. She said she was regularly communicating with US officials about their thinking. Hankook Ilbo reported that South Korean officials understood there was not yet behind-the-scenes coordination for a summit. [ 13 , 15 ]

Kang said a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and denuclearization remained policy goals, but stopping North Korea's nuclear and missile programs was important in the current circumstances. She said she understood US officials shared the approach of moving toward denuclearization in stages. Newsis reported that Trump had also expressed interest in meeting Kim around a visit to Busan before last year's APEC summit, but no meeting took place because North Korea did not respond. [ 13 , 17 ]