https://arab.news/b9ban
- “It is not on the schedule for this trip,” the senior official told reporters in a call
- Trump is expected in South Korea on Wednesday for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum
WASHINGTON: Donald Trump is not scheduled to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un while in South Korea next week, a senior US official said Friday, despite speculation about a meeting while the US president tours Asia.
“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, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters in a call.
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.
Trump is expected in South Korea on Wednesday for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum.
North Korea appears “to be paying attention to the United States and various signs... suggest a considerable possibility of a meeting,” unification minister Chung Dong-young told reporters.
US media have reported officials from his administration have privately discussed setting up a meeting between Trump and North Korean leader Kim, who he last held talks with in 2019 during his first presidency.
Trump has said he hopes to meet Kim again — possibly this year.
Kim said last month he had “fond memories” of Trump and was open to talks if the United States dropped its “delusional” demand that Pyongyang give up its nuclear weapons.
Seoul on Friday urged the two leaders not to let the chance “slip away.”
“I don’t want to miss even a one percent chance,” said Chung, whose ministry handles fraught relations with the North. “They need to make a decision.”