Washington: U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday expressed his hope of meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un this year, renewing his desire to reengage with the reclusive leader, as he met with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung to discuss security, trade, and other issues.
According to Yonhap News Agency, during a press availability at the Oval Office, Trump repeated his claim of his "great" relationship with Kim and portrayed the North as a country of "tremendous" potential in what appears to be a call for the dynastic ruler to come back to the negotiating table. Lee threw his support behind Trump's interest in resuming dialogue with Kim, voicing his hope that Trump will open a "new path for peace on the Korean Peninsula."
"Well, I am meeting a lot of people. I mean, it's hard to say that, but I'd like to meet him this year," Trump told reporters, responding to a reporter's question of when he will meet Kim. He touted his personal ties with Kim, which Kim Yo-jong, the high-profile sister of the North Korean leader, recently depicted as "not bad."
Despite his earlier social media post critical of the new South Korean government, the initial part of the meeting between Lee and Trump -- open to the press -- proceeded in a cordial manner. At the summit, Trump also said that he wants to ask Seoul to give the United States "ownership" of land the Asian ally has lent to host U.S. military bases on its soil.
Trump made the remarks during a press availability as he held his first in-person meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung at the White House in Washington. "Maybe one of the things I'd like to do is ask them to give us ownership of the land while we have the big fort. You know we spent a lot of money building a fort, and there was a contribution made by South Korea," he said. "But I would like to see if we could get rid of the lease and get ownership of the land where we have a massive military base," he added.