(LEAD) Trump says he's open to meeting Kim in Korea if Kim would like to

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By Song Sang-ho

WASHINGTON, Oct. 25 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Donald Trump has said he is open to meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during his upcoming visit to South Korea next week if Kim would like to meet, in a renewed show of his willingness to resume diplomacy with the reclusive leader.

Trump made the remarks during a press meeting aboard Air Force One on Friday, as he was en route to Malaysia as part of his Asia trip that will also take him to South Korea and Japan. Trump is set to visit Korea on Wednesday and Thursday on the occasion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

"Well, I would if he would contact. The last time I met him, I put it out over the internet that I'm coming to South Korea and if he'd like to meet, I'm open to it. I'd do it," he said, according to the White House pool report, as he responded to a question about whether he has any plans to meet with Kim during his trip to Korea.

"If you want to put out the word, I'm open to it," he added.

Trump last met Kim at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom in June 2019. It was the third in-person meeting between the leaders following their first in Singapore in June 2018 and the second in Hanoi in February 2019.

Trump reiterated that he had a "great" relationship with Kim, and that he "got along very well" with Kim.

"He probably knows I'm coming, right? If you want to put out the word, I'm open to it. There's not a lot of ways other than the internet. They have very little telephonic service," he said. "But he knows I'm coming. I'd be open to it 100 percent."

In a separate online press briefing on Friday, a senior U.S. official said a meeting between Trump and Kim is not on the current schedule for Trump's Asia trip, while noting that "things can change."

Speculation has persisted that Trump might seek to resume his personal diplomacy with Kim when he visits South Korea, as the White House has said the president remains open to talks with the North Korean leader "without any preconditions."

In a parliamentary address last month, Kim also expressed his openness to engaging with the U.S. if Washington drops it demand for his country's denuclearization -- a remark that added to the expectations that Trump could rekindle dialogue with Kim.

During the press availability en route to Malaysia, Trump called North Korea "sort of a nuclear power," as he responded to a question about Pyongyang's position that to have talks with Washington, it has to be recognized as a nuclear power.

"I know how many weapons they have and I know everything about them. But I've got a very good relationship with Kim Jong-un," he said. "When you say they have to be recognized as a nuclear power, well they got a lot of nuclear weapons. I'll say that."

Trump struck a cautious tone on North Korea's longstanding wish to gain recognition as a nuclear power, as any formal recognition could trigger a controversy given that it could be tantamount to the renunciation of his administration's stated commitment to the "complete" denuclearization of the North.

Observers have said that chances of a Trump-Kim meeting during Trump's visit to Korea are slim considering the short duration of his trip and other important appointments, such as his planned talks with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday and with Chinese President Xi Jinping the following day.

sshluck@yna.co.kr
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