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TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The President of the United States, Donald Trump, expressed his willingness to meet with the Leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un, during his visit to Asia this week. He made the statement while speaking to reporters on Air Force One during the journey to Japan on Monday, October 27, 2025.Trump said, "I’d love to meet with him if he’d like to meet. I got along great with Kim Jong Un. I liked him. He liked me," as reported by The Hill.Trump added that he is willing to extend his travel time to make the meeting happen. According to the Korea JoongAng Daily, Trump said, "I haven’t mentioned it, I haven’t said anything, but I’d love to meet with him if he’d like to meet."Longstanding US-North Korea RelationshipTrump's statement came after a similar expression he made last Friday. At that time, he said he was open to meeting Kim if he received prior contact."The last time I met him, I put it out over the internet that I’m coming to South Korea and if he’d like to meet, I’m open to it. I’d do it," said Trump.He then joked, "They don’t have a lot of telephone service. They have a lot of nuclear weapons but not a lot of telephone service. I’m open to it." Trump also implied that Kim may have known his travel schedule."He probably knows I’m coming, right? Yeah, I’d be open to it, 100 percent. I got along very well with Kim Jong Un," he added.The last meeting between Trump and Kim took place in 2019, during the early period of Trump's presidency. At that time, he sought to persuade Pyongyang to dismantle its nuclear program. However, since that meeting, North Korea has resumed a series of intercontinental ballistic missile tests.Discussion on North Korea SanctionsTrump also mentioned the possibility of discussing sanctions against North Korea to encourage dialogue. "We have sanctions, and they are big enough to start," he said.As for the United States' sanctions against North Korea, they consist of a series of economic, financial, and diplomatic restrictions aimed at pressuring the Pyongyang regime to stop its nuclear and missile programs.These sanctions have been in place since the Korean War (1950s) and have been expanded over time.Trump began his Asia tour in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from Sunday to Monday to attend the ASEAN Summit. He then departed for Japan and South Korea. In Korea, Trump is scheduled to attend the APEC Summit in Gyeongju and hold bilateral meetings with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping.Editor's Choice: Trump Meets Families of Japanese Victims of North Korean AbductionsClick here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News
