Donald Trump says he plans to reach out to North Korea’s Kim Jong Un | News Donald Trump
During his first term in office, Trump met with Kim on three occasions between 2018 and 2019.
US President Donald Trump said he plans to contact North Korean leader Kim Jong Un after returning to the White House.
Trump asked about his plans for Kim during Thursday’s interview and whether he would “lend a hand.”
“I will, yes. I liked him,” Trump said.
Trump and Kim have had an unusually strong relationship during the president’s first term in office for two nations at loggerheads since the Korean War some 70 years ago. Trump previously described their relationship as “very, very good” and called Kim a “smart guy” in the media.
During his first term in office, Trump met with Kim on three separate occasions between 2018 and 2019.
In 2019, he made history as the first sitting US president to visit North Korea since the 1953 armistice de facto ended the Korean War.
After his re-election in November, Trump’s team said they had considered reopening “direct talks” with Kim.
Trump’s close relationship with Kim, however, has in the past put him at odds with South Korea, a US treaty ally, and potentially even members of his own cabinet as he heads into his second term in office.
Senator Marco Rubio, Trump’s choice for secretary of state, described Kim as a “dictator” at his Senate confirmation hearing and called for a “very serious look at broader North Korean policies.”
