Trump says he won’t meet North Korea’s Kim during Asia trip
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US President Donald Trump (right) said he expected to return to the region for a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “at some point in the not-too-distant future".
PHOTO: AFP
SEOUL – US President Donald Trump has said he didn’t expect to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during his trip through Asia, despite previously suggesting he was open to coordinating a summit.
“We really weren’t able to work out timing,” Mr Trump said on Oct 29 in South Korea, a day before he’s slated to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“We have President Xi coming tomorrow, and that was something that obviously is very important to the world, to all of us.”
Earlier, aboard Air Force One, the US President said he expected to return to the region for a meeting with Mr Kim “at some point in the not-too-distant future,” and believed the North Korean leader was interested in meeting him.
Mr Trump also shrugged off North Korea test-firing missiles
“He’s been launching missiles for decades, right?” Mr Trump said.
‘True heart’
He said that while he believed Mr Kim’s schedule was “very tight”, the two had “a really good understanding of each other.”
Some allies in the region have urged caution.
On Oct 28, Mr Trump met families of Japanese citizens who were abducted decades ago by North Korea.
In South Korea, President Lee Jae Myung told Mr Trump he was happy the US President was “willing and open” to a summit with the North Korean leader and was hopeful Mr Kim would “see your true heart and intention”.
Mr Kim has suggested a willingness to return to talks with the US – as long as Washington abandons its insistence on North Korea’s denuclearisation.
On his flight to Asia, Mr Trump suggested he was unconcerned about recognising North Korea as a nuclear power, noting that the country had the weapons in hand. BLOOMBERG
