President Trump has announced his intention to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, in response to a request from South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, who is seeking the president’s assistance in fostering peace on the peninsula.
“During your first term in office, your efforts stabilized the situation on the Korean peninsula. However, during your absence, North Korea advanced its nuclear and missile capabilities, leading to a worsening of the peninsula’s situation,” Lee remarked during his meeting with Trump in the Oval Office.
Trump replied, “And they wouldn’t have done that, they would not have done that if I were president.”
“I completely agree with you,” the South Korean leader added, noting that Trump’s relationship with Kim is not unfavorable. “I think this indicates that North Korea is waiting, so I hope you will pave the way for a new era of peace on the Korean peninsula.”
“I will do that, and we’ll engage in talks. He wants to meet with me. He had no respect for Biden, which is why he didn’t want to meet with him, but we look forward to improving relations. You will assist in that,” Trump commented.
Trump mentioned that the meeting would occur “at an appropriate time in the future,” expressing his desire to meet Kim this year when reporters inquired about the timing during the Oval Office session.
The South Korean leader argued that Trump is “the only person who can make progress on this issue.”
“We can do big progress, I think, with North Korea. Absolutely,” Trump said.
Lee quipped, while requesting help from Trump in starting peace talks, that he may want to open a business venture in North Korea.
“I wish to highlight that the Korean peninsula remains the only divided nation globally, and I would like your assistance in establishing peace there. Thus, I anticipate your meeting with Chairman Kim Jong Un and the construction of Trump Tower in North Korea,” Lee said, to which Trump responded with a smile.
The meeting on Monday is the first in-person meeting between the two leaders after Lee, a former child laborer who rose through the ranks to lead the liberal Democratic Party, was elected in June.
Trump in February said the U.S. will have relations with North Korea and touted his personal relationship with Kim. He held two summits with Kim during his first term, in Vietnam and Singapore, but failed to achieve North Korea’s denuclearization.
