Donald Trump has told reporters he would meet North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, during his tour of Asia.
The US president set off from Washington on Friday night for a five-day trip – his first to the region since taking office in January.
He will visit Japan, South Korea and Malaysia and take part in trade talks with Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, on the last day of the trip.
The president told reporters on board the presidential plane, Air Force One, that he would consider meeting Kim Jong-un for the first time since 2019.
Three previous rounds of talks have failed to address North Korea’s continuing development of nuclear weapons.
The White House said Trump is also expected to meet Qatar’s emir during a refuelling stop on the way to Malaysia.
He will be joined there by the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio. It is thought they will discuss progressing the ceasefire in Gaza on to its final phase in coming weeks.
The meeting with the Chinese leader is hoped to bring about a deal to end the two countries’ escalating trade war.
Trump said he hoped for a ‘very good meeting’ with Xi and he expected China to agree to a deal to avoid 100% tariffs taking effect on November 1.
Speaking to reporters, Trump confirmed he would consider meeting Kim Jong-un for a fourth time, the Guardian reported.
‘If you want to put out the word, I’m open to it,’ he said. ‘I had a great relationship with him.’
Kim has said he would also be open to talking with Trump if Washington rowed back on its demand that North Korea give up its nuclear arsenal.
When reporters asked Trump about Pyongyang’s demand to be recognised as a nuclear state as a precondition for talks, he said: ‘Well, I think they are sort of a nuclear power.
‘When you say they have to be recognised as a nuclear power, well, they got a lot of nuclear weapons, I’ll say that.’
South Korea’s reunification minister said on Friday there was a ‘considerable’ chance that Trump and Kim would meet while the US leader was in South Korea.
CNN, citing anonymous sources, reported last weekend that US officials had talked of setting up a meeting during Trump’s tour.
However, before his departure on Friday, US officials said there was currently no plan in place to meet the North Korean leader.
Trump’s itinerary
The US president’s first stop will be Malaysia, where he is expected to sign a trade deal with the country and oversee the signing of a peace accord between Thailand and Cambodia.
He is also due to meet the Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit in Malaysia. It comes after a spat between the two countries over tariffs.
Trump will then move on to Tokyo, where he will meet Japan’s newly elected first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi.
In South Korea, Trump will then attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit and meet Xi for the first time in Trump’s second term.
Trump initially said he would cancel the meeting and announced new 100 tariffs. He later said he would go after all.
The US president said if the two countries cannot agree a trade deal, he could raise tariffs on Chinese imports to as much as 155% from November 1.
The leaders are also expected to discuss the fraught relationship between Taiwan and China, as well as China’s ally, Russia, which is now subject to further US sanctions over the war in Ukraine.
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