Seoul Sees “Considerable Chance” of Trump–Kim Meeting During Upcoming Visit

By Staff, Agencies

South Korea’s unification minister said Friday there is a “considerable” likelihood that US President Donald Trump will meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during his visit to the Korean Peninsula next week.

Trump is set to arrive in South Korea on Wednesday for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation [APEC] Forum, and according to US media, members of his administration have privately discussed arranging a meeting between Trump and Kim — their first since 2019.

Unification Minister Chung Dong-young told reporters that “North Korea appears to be paying close attention to the United States,” adding that “various signs suggest a considerable possibility of a meeting.”

Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to meet Kim again, possibly before the end of the year. Meanwhile, Kim said last month he had “fond memories” of Trump and would be open to talks if Washington abandoned its “delusional” demand that Pyongyang surrender its nuclear weapons.

Seoul on Friday urged both leaders not to let the opportunity “slip away.” “I don’t want to miss even a one percent chance,” Chung said. “They need to make a decision.”

Although no official confirmation of a meeting has been made, South Korea and the United Nations Command have temporarily suspended tours of the Joint Security Area [JSA] from late October to early November.

Kim and Trump last met in 2019 at Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone [DMZ] — the heavily fortified area separating the two Koreas — where soldiers from both sides stand face-to-face. Chung said North Korean workers have recently been seen “sprucing up” areas near the JSA, cleaning and tidying flower beds for the first time this year.

During Trump’s first term, he and Kim met three times for high-profile summits. Their last encounter — an impromptu meeting at Panmunjom — was arranged after Trump invited Kim via Twitter just a day earlier. The historic event saw the two leaders shake hands over the border before Trump briefly stepped into North Korean territory, becoming the first US president to ever set foot there.

However, subsequent negotiations collapsed over disagreements on how much of its nuclear arsenal Pyongyang was willing to dismantle and what it would receive in return.

In August, Trump praised his relationship with Kim, saying he knew the North Korean leader “better than anybody, almost, other than his sister.”

Trump’s trip to South Korea is also expected to include a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.