Trump Says Meeting Kim Jong Un During Asia Trip Is Possible

U.S. President Donald Trump said he may meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a trip to Asia next month, raising the prospect of their first face-to-face talks in more than seven years.

Asked by a reporter at the White House on Monday whether he planned to meet Kim during the trip, Trump replied that he might and described the prospect as exciting. He also said he gets along with the North Korean leader. The brief exchange did not include details about a venue, agenda or preparations, and neither side has announced a summit.

Trump is scheduled to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China, on Nov. 18 and 19. The trip could provide a diplomatic opening, but his comment stopped short of confirming that arrangements are under way. Trump has said several times that he wants to meet Kim before the end of the year.

A meeting would revive leader-level diplomacy that began during Trump’s first term. Trump and Kim held their first summit in Singapore in June 2018, producing a broad statement on relations and denuclearization. Their second summit, held in Hanoi in February 2019, ended without an agreement after the two sides failed to bridge differences over sanctions relief and North Korea’s nuclear program.

The leaders met for a third time at Panmunjom in June 2019, when Trump briefly crossed the military demarcation line into North Korea. That encounter was their most recent in-person meeting. Subsequent working-level negotiations did not produce a lasting deal.

The possibility of renewed contact carries direct implications for South Korea, which would be affected by any shift in U.S. policy toward Pyongyang or any negotiations over the North’s weapons programs. Seoul would also have an interest in how a potential meeting fits with security coordination among South Korea, the United States and Japan.

For now, Trump’s remark signals personal openness rather than a confirmed diplomatic initiative. Key questions remain unanswered, including whether Pyongyang is prepared to engage, what conditions either side might set and whether talks would focus on risk reduction, sanctions or denuclearization. The APEC summit’s timing and location may create an opportunity for contact, but a meeting would require political agreement and logistical coordination that have not been publicly confirmed.