Trump Announces Direct Diplomacy with North Korea, Despite Denial
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President Donald Trump said Wednesday he expects to meet with dictator Kim Jong Un "later this year," signaling ongoing direct diplomacy with Pyongyang despite a direct denial by North Korea.
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NBC NewsPresident Donald Trump confirmed to reporters that he plans to meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un this year, a highly unusual move for an American president.
Washington TimesSEOUL, South Korea — Days after he ordered the Pentagon to scale back joint military exercises with South Korea, President Trump said Wednesday he would meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un later this year.
ABC NewsTrump said the U.S. is scaling back the exercises and that he'll meet with Kim. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises are an insult to North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un.
Washington ExaminerPresident Donald Trump told reporters Wednesday that he will meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un by the end of the year, marking what would be their fourth face-to-face sit-down since Trump’s first term.
The HillTrump claims he will meet with Kim Jong Un, North Korea has 57 nukes Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & NatSec newsletter {beacon} Defense &National Security Defense &National Security   The Big Story  Trump claims he will meet with Kim Jong Un, North Korea has 57 nukes President Trump told reporters that he would meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un this year as he warned the isolated…
The Daily Wire“Yeah, I will be,” Trump replied before turning and walking away. A report published Tuesday by The Wall Street Journal indicated that Trump has been pushing for a meeting with the North Korean leader, possibly in November, in conjunction with an already-planned trip to Asia. The report suggested that Trump’s goal was to encourage the dictator to abandon his country’s nuclear weapons program altogether.
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The president repeatedly pointed to his personal relationship with the North Korean leader as an asset, calling Kim a "very powerful player" and saying their ability to get along was "a good thing, not a bad thing."
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The Daily WireTrump said again that he got along well with Kim — and that he knew the North Korean leader “very well.”
ABC News"Well, I don't want to talk about that. But I do have a good relationship with Kim Jong Un," he said, going on to remark that other presidents did not have the relationship he had with Kim.
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“I know Kim Jong Un very well, and he’s going to be fine. As long as we have a smart president, he’s going to be fine,” Trump continued. “If we have a dumb president, then he’s probably not going to be so fine.”
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Washington Times“I know Kim Jong-un very well. He’s going to be fine, as long as we have a smart president,” he said. “If we have a dumb president, then he’s probably not going to be so fine.”
Fox News"The fact that I get along with him, that’s a good thing," Trump said. "You can’t let Iran have a nuclear weapon. And I know Kim Jong Un very well, and he’s going to be fine as long as we have a smart president."
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Trump declined to say whether he had exchanged letters with Kim, telling a reporter, "Can’t tell you that."
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NBC NewsTrump, who has previously exchanged letters with Kim, declined to tell reporters whether the two leaders were writing letters to each other again. Asked whether he was exchanging letters, Trump said, “I can’t tell you that,” adding that he got along with the leader.
Washington ExaminerTrump and Kim exchanged dozens of handwritten letters during the president’s first term, but he declined to say Wednesday whether the two leaders had continued communications.
The Daily WireThe reporter began by asking whether or not Trump had been exchanging letters with Kim, and while the president refused to answer that question, he asserted that it was a good thing to have a working relationship with a leader who has nuclear weapons.
6 details only one outlet reported
Independent claims that didn't surface elsewhere in our corpus. Treat as supplementary — not corroborated across outlets.
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01 Fox News North Korea’s nuclear stockpile is closely guarded, and public estimates vary. The Federation of American Scientists estimated in 2024 that Pyongyang may have assembled roughly 50 nuclear warheads, while possessing enough fissile material for up to 90.
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02 Washington Examiner “Yeah, I will be,” Trump said during an impromptu press conference on the White House grounds after reporters asked whether the White House was setting up a meeting with Pyongyang government officials.
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03 ABC News Trump's comments came after the Department of Defense confirmed that the ongoing exercises -- initially scheduled to last through Aug. 27 -- will be shortened by a week and conclude on Friday instead.
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04 NBC News “These exercises are not only costly, with much of these costs paid for by the United States of America (as usual!), but send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile, to a Country that, as long as Donald J. Trump has been President, has been unthreatening and respectful,” Trump said in the post.
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05 The Daily Wire Trump made the comments during an impromptu meeting with reporters while touring a new White House helipad, where he was asked whether the two leaders would meet again.
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06 Washington Times “The United States and its followers are vigorously carrying out hostile military activities against [North Korea] even at this very moment,” Ms. Kim said.
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Sources (7)
- abc
- dailywire
- foxnews
- thehill
- nbc
- washexaminer
- washtimes