After much speculation about a possible meeting between Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, a United States official has said that the two leaders are not scheduled to meet next week when the US president tours Asia for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum.
“The president, of course, has expressed his willingness to meet with Kim Jong Un in the future. It is not on the schedule for this trip,” the senior official told reporters on condition of anonymity.
South Korea’s unification minister said earlier Friday he believed there was a “considerable” chance that Trump would meet Kim during his visit to the peninsula next week.
Chung Dong-young said North Korea “appears to be paying attention to the United States and various signs… suggest a considerable possibility of a meeting.” Also Read | South Korea’s Lee Jae Myung hails Trump as ‘peacemaker’, pushes for shipbuilding, manufacturing cooperation with US
“I don’t want to miss even a one percent chance…They need to make a decision.”
Earlier, CNN reported citing sources that officials of the United States administration are “quietly” discussing a possible meeting between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un.
In August, after hosting South Korean President Lee Jae Myung at the White House for the first time, Donald Trump signaled interest in meeting Kim Jong Un too.
Kim Jong Un, meanwhile, indicated that his country was open to further talks if the United States dropped its “its delusional obsession with denuclearization” of North Korea.
Trump and Kim Jong Un have met three times. The last time Donald Trump visited South Korea in 2019, he made a surprise trip to the border with North Korea for an impromptu meeting with Kim Jong Un to revive faltering nuclear talks.
APEC SUMMIT
During the APEC Summit, Trump could meet Chinese President Xi Jinping.
During the APEC Summit, Trump is also likely to meet South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.
Last week, Trump threatened to scrap a planned meeting with Xi at the forum, in retaliation for Beijing imposing export curbs on rare-earth technologies.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, however, told CNBC on Wednesday that Trump still planned to meet Xi.
