South Korea says ‘considerable’ chance Kim Jong Un, Trump will meet next week

SEOUL - South Korea’s unification minister said Oct 24 he believed there was a “considerable” chance that US President Donald Trump will meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a visit to the peninsula next week.

Mr Trump is expected in South Korea on Oct 29 for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Forum.

US media have reported officials from his administration have privately discussed setting up a meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Kim, who he last held talks with in 2019.

North Korea appears “to be paying attention to the United States and various signs... suggest a considerable possibility of a meeting,” Unification Minister Chung Dong-young told reporters.

Mr Trump has said he hopes to meet Mr Kim again – possibly in 2025.

Mr Kim said in September he had “fond memories” of Mr Trump and was open to talks if the United States dropped its “delusional” demand that Pyongyang give up its nuclear weapons.

Seoul on Oct 24 urged the two leaders not to let the chance “slip away”.

“I don’t want to miss even a one per cent chance,” the unification minister said.

“They need to make a decision,” Mr Chung, whose ministry handles fraught relations with North Korea, added.

Mr Kim and Mr Trump last met in 2019 at Panmunjom in the Joint Security Area (JSA) in the Demilitarised Zone separating the two Koreas – the only place where soldiers from both sides face each other on a regular basis.

While no official announcements of the duo’s meeting have been made, South Korea and the United Nations Command halted tours of the JSA from late October to early November.

Mr Chung said North Koreans have been spotted “sprucing up” areas near the JSA for the first time in 2025 – cleaning, pulling weeds, tidying flower beds and taking photos around Panmunjom. AFP