Donald Trump has said he would be “100% open” to meeting Kim Jong Un during his visit to Asia.
The US president said he gets along with his North Korean counterpart “very well” when asked by reporters aboard Air Force One, urging them to “put out the word”.
In 2019, Mr Trump became the first serving US president to cross the border into North Korea during his first term in office.
The pair haven’t met since, and the White House said nothing is planned for Mr Trump’s five-day trip to Asia, which will see him meet with the leaders of Malaysia, Japan and South Korea.
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Mr Kim said last month he still holds “good personal memories” of Mr Trump and that there is “no reason not to” resume talks with the US if it “abandons” what he called a “delusional obsession” with wanting North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons.
Mr Kim has since accelerated the expansion of an arsenal of nuclear-capable missiles and strengthened his position by aligning with Russia over its war in Ukraine and tightening relations with China.
While some experts predict a meeting between Mr Kim and Mr Trump is not likely, others predict the pair will eventually sit down for talks in the coming months.
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“We should see prospects for their meeting have increased,” Ban Kil Joo, assistant professor at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy in Seoul told the Associated Press.
He cited the recent suspension of civilian tours to the southern side of Panmunjom and Mr Kim’s comments about a possible return to talks.
Professor Ban said Mr Kim will likely determine whether to resume diplomacy with the US president when he holds a major ruling party conference, which is expected in January.
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Chung Jin-young, a former dean at South Korea’s Kyung Hee University, said: “If a meeting with Kim Jong Un happens, Trump would brag of it and boast he’s the one who can resolve Korean Peninsula issues as well, so he has something to gain.
“But would the US have something substantial to give Kim Jong Un in return?”
Koh Yu-hwan, a former president of South Korea’s Institute of National Unification, agreed, saying to secure a meeting, Mr Trump would have to bring “something enticing to the table this time around”.
