WASHINGTON : US President Donald Trump has privately urged his aides to arrange a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as soon as possible, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
Citing U.S. officials, the newspaper reported that Trump has discussed the prospect of a direct sit-down with Kim, with expectations that such a meeting could take place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in November.
The potential meeting would mark the first encounter between the two leaders since their historic handshake at the Panmunjom truce village on June 30, 2019. During that visit, Trump briefly stepped onto North Korean soil, becoming the first sitting U.S. president to do so.
That meeting followed two formal summits — the first in Singapore in June 2018, which produced a vague commitment to denuclearization, and a second in Hanoi in February 2019, which collapsed without an agreement.
Despite the high-profile diplomacy, none of the encounters resulted in a lasting accord. North Korea has since continued to expand its nuclear weapons arsenal, with analysts estimating the country now possesses enough fissile material for dozens of warheads.
The APEC summit, scheduled for November, could provide a diplomatic backdrop for renewed engagement, though no official confirmation has emerged from either the Trump camp or North Korean state media.
