South Korea says there's a good chance Donald Trump will meet Kim Jong Un next week: 'Opportunity not to be missed'
Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un in 2019 Photo: 2020 Images / Alamy / Profimedia
South Korea's unification minister said Friday that there is a “high” chance that US President Donald Trump will meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during his visit to the peninsula next week, AFP reports.
North Korea appears to be “paying attention to the United States, and various signs (…) suggest that there is a high chance of a meeting,” Chung Dong-young told reporters.
Donald Trump is expected at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit on Wednesday. He is due to arrive in South Korea on November 29.
According to US media, Trump administration officials have informally discussed holding a meeting between him and Kim Jong Un.
On Friday, Seoul urged the two leaders not to miss this chance.
“I don't want to miss even the smallest opportunity,” said the Minister of Unification. “They have to make a decision,” added Chung, whose ministry handles relations with North Korea.
The US president said in late August that he would like to meet with the North Korean leader later this year, saying he “gets along very well with him.”
Three meetings took place during his first term: in June 2018 in Singapore, in February 2019 in Vietnam, then in June of the same year at the inter-Korean border.
In late September, Kim Jong Un said he was ready to resume contact with Washington, even saying he had “pleasant memories” of Donald Trump. But only if the United States abandons the idea of depriving its country of atomic weapons.
