U.S. President Donald Trump stated on Wednesday aboard his presidential plane en route to South Korea for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit that he would engage with North Korea at some point.
According to Reuters, President Trump, who departed from Japan, said that while his current diplomatic focus is on trade negotiations with China, he may return to Northeast Asia in the near future to meet with Kim Jong Un, the General Secretary of North Korea’s Workers’ Party.
When reporters asked President Trump about North Korea’s cruise missile launch the previous day, he countered that they had been firing missiles for decades. He then asserted regarding Chairman Kim that they understood each other well.
On Monday, President Trump also extended an olive branch to North Korea, saying that if Kim wants to meet, he wants to meet him as well. He even made the unprecedented proposal that he could extend his visit to South Korea or visit North Korea if necessary.
President Trump is scheduled to hold talks with President Lee Jae Myung this afternoon on the sidelines of the APEC summit.