Trump Says He Will Meet North Korea's Kim Jong Un Later This Year

WASHINGTON —

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he expects to meet again with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un later this year, though he offered no date, location or details on how the meeting might come together, according to CBS News and Yonhap.

Asked by a reporter at the White House whether he expected to see Kim this year, Trump replied, "Yeah, I will be." He would not say whether the two men have exchanged letters recently, telling reporters, "I can't tell you that," Yonhap reported. The Wall Street Journal had reported a day earlier that Trump was pushing aides to arrange an in-person meeting, possibly around the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China, in November, according to CBS News.

A Softer Line on Joint Drills

Trump's comments came days after he ordered the Pentagon to scale back the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise with South Korea, cutting it from 11 days to five and trimming field training, CBS News and ABC Australia reported. Trump said the drills sent a "totally inappropriate and hostile" signal to North Korea, a country he described in a Truth Social post as "unthreatening and respectful" throughout his time in office, according to ABC Australia. CBS News reported Trump also cited South Korea's lack of assistance during the war with Iran as a factor in the decision.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said on social media that Trump's move reflected a "major decision made with careful consideration to create peace on the Korean Peninsula," according to ABC Australia. But CBS News reported Lee has separately called for greater military independence from Washington and is pushing to acquire nuclear-powered submarines faster, as US allies in the region question American security commitments. China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi was in Seoul for security talks this week, meeting his South Korean counterpart as the drill changes were announced, CBS News reported.

An Unusual Number

Trump also said North Korea now has "57 very powerful nuclear weapons," an unusually specific claim for a US president, since Washington does not publish an official estimate, the Straits Times reported. A Congressional Research Service report last year cited outside experts estimating North Korea has enough fissile material for up to 90 warheads but may have assembled around 50, according to the Straits Times. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimated in June that North Korea had assembled around 60 warheads. In April, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi said in Seoul that North Korea was showing a "very serious increase" in its weapons-production capability, estimating its arsenal at "a few dozen warheads," Euronews reported.

Trump and Kim met three times during Trump's first term, including a brief crossing into North Korean territory at the Demilitarized Zone in 2019, though the talks collapsed over demands that Pyongyang give up its weapons. Kim's sister, Kim Yo Jong, said this week she was unaware of any recent contact between the two leaders but called the relationship between them "excellent," even as the joint drills continued, according to the Straits Times. CBS News reported Kim has ruled out any talks premised on denuclearization and wants the United States to recognize North Korea as a nuclear power instead.