Trump Says ‘Timing’ Didn’t Allow Meeting with Kim Jong Un During South Korea Visit
Speaking in Seoul, Trump said, “I know Kim Jong Un very well... we really weren’t able to work out timing,” while expressing hope that the two could meet “in the not too distant future.”
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday confirmed that he was unable to arrange a long-anticipated meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during his visit to South Korea, ending days of speculation that the two might hold their first encounter since Trump’s return to the White House.
Speaking in Seoul, Trump said, “I know Kim Jong Un very well... we really weren’t able to work out timing,” while expressing hope that the two could meet “in the not too distant future.”
The comments came as Trump met South Korean President Lee Jae Myung for a bilateral summit in Gyeongju, the host city of this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
The talks focused on trade, regional security, and North Korea’s growing missile capabilities.
Hours before Trump’s arrival, Pyongyang announced it had successfully test-fired sea-to-surface cruise missiles off its western coast — a move widely seen as a message to its “enemies” amid rising tensions in the region.
Trump, however, downplayed the provocation, insisting he remains open to renewed dialogue.
“At some point, we’ll be involved with North Korea. I think they’d like to, and I’d like to,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One before landing in Seoul.
President Lee praised Trump’s invitation to Kim as a gesture that “created a significant sense of warmth and peace on the Korean Peninsula,” noting that even symbolic outreach can help reduce tensions between the two Koreas, which technically remain at war since the 1950s armistice.
Trump and Kim previously met three times during Trump’s first term, beginning with their historic 2018 summit in Singapore.
Their last encounter came in June 2019 at the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), where Trump briefly stepped across the border into North Korea — becoming the first sitting U.S. president ever to do so.
That meeting, arranged through a spontaneous Twitter invitation, was hailed as a diplomatic milestone but ultimately failed to yield progress.
Talks collapsed soon after over disagreements about how much of North Korea’s nuclear arsenal should be dismantled and what sanctions relief Pyongyang would receive in return.
Since then, North Korea has repeatedly declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear power, rejecting calls for denuclearization while continuing to develop long-range missile systems.
Trump’s latest remarks suggest he may seek to revive stalled U.S.–North Korea diplomacy, positioning himself once again as a negotiator capable of bridging one of the world’s most persistent geopolitical divides.
