(ATTN: UPDATES with more details, background from para 3)
By Chang Dong-woo
WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that he may meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during his upcoming trip to Asia, raising the possibility of renewed summit diplomacy between Washington and Pyongyang.
Asked by a reporter at the White House on whether he plans to meet Kim during the trip, Trump replied, "I may," adding, "That'll be exciting, won't it? But I get along with him."
Trump plans to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in China, scheduled for November 18-19 in Shenzhen.
In August, Trump said that he hopes to meet Kim later this year, adding to speculation that he might seek to rekindle his personal diplomacy with Kim that led to three bilateral in-person meetings: the first in Singapore in June 2018, the second in Hanoi in February 2019 and the third at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom.
On Saturday, Trump said at a campaign rally in Ohio that he "gets along great" with the North Korean leader as he stressed the importance of maintaining good relations with leaders of nuclear-armed nations.
Tommy Pigott, spokesperson for the State Department, said earlier that Trump does not view talks with North Korea as a "concession" and is willing to engage Pyongyang if doing so serves U.S. national interests.
U.S. President Donald Trump walks to speak to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington before boarding Marine One on Oct. 2, 2026, in this photo released by the Associated Press. (Yonhap)
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