President Donald Trump revealed Wednesday that he intends to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un later this year, asserting that North Korea has “57 very powerful nuclear weapons,” according to reports from Reuters.
These remarks followed Trump’s directive to Pentagon officials to cease joint military exercises with South Korea, which he deemed a “totally inappropriate and hostile” message to a nation that he described as “non-threatening and respectful.”
When asked if he anticipates a meeting with Kim this year, Trump confirmed, “Yes, I will do it.” Earlier, he mentioned receiving a response from Kim regarding his attempts to restart dialogue. The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump has encouraged his advisors to facilitate a face-to-face meeting with Kim as early as this fall.
North Korea’s mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to requests for comments on Trump’s latest statements, which came shortly after Kim’s influential sister, Kim Yo Jong, claimed she was unaware of any recent communications between the two leaders.
Kim Yo Jong further stated that while the relationship between U.S. and North Korean leaders was “truly excellent,” Washington continued to conduct military exercises with Seoul, threatening the national security of Pyongyang.
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Trump has previously engaged in an unprecedented series of summits with Kim in 2018 and 2019; however, diplomatic efforts stalled due to U.S. demands for North Korea to relinquish its nuclear arsenal. Since then, Trump has frequently referred to North Korea as a “nuclear power,” even as his administration continues to press for the denuclearization of the country without officially recognizing it as a nuclear state.
Trump is attempting to revive diplomatic efforts during his second term. “I know Kim Jong Un very well, and he will be fine as long as we have a smart president,” Trump told reporters Wednesday while visiting a heliport being constructed on the historic South Lawn of the White House.
“The fact that I get along well with him — that’s a good thing, not a bad thing. He has 57 very powerful nuclear weapons,” Trump added. “That should never have happened. If I had been president, I wouldn’t have allowed that. But he (Kim) has them,” the U.S. president stated.
Trump’s mention of a specific number of North Korea’s nuclear weapons is highly unusual, as noted by Reuters. The U.S. government does not officially publish an estimate of North Korea’s nuclear arsenal, although a 2025 report from the Congressional Research Service indicated that experts estimate Pyongyang has produced enough fissile material for up to 90 nuclear warheads, although approximately 50 are believed to be assembled.
In June, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimated that North Korea has likely assembled around 60 warheads and possesses enough fissile material to produce at least an additional 30.
During Trump’s first term, Kim referred to him as “a senile old man deranged from the U.S.” and threatened that he had a “nuclear button” on his desk. However, the two leaders transformed that tension into face-to-face meetings, including a brief exchange in the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, making Trump the first sitting U.S. president to step into North Korean territory.
