Seoul: U.S. President Donald Trump has no plan to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during his upcoming trip to Asia, a senior U.S. official said Friday, though Trump remains open to future discussions with the North Korean leader.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the official addressed the matter during an online press briefing, as Trump prepares for a two-day state visit to South Korea. This visit coincides with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit set to take place in Gyeongju on October 31 and November 1. While answering questions about the possibility of a meeting at the Demilitarized Zone between the two Koreas, the official noted, "The president, of course, has expressed his willingness to meet with Kim Jong-un in the future, and (it) is not on the schedule for this trip."
There had been ongoing speculation about a potential meeting between Trump and Kim during the APEC summit in South Korea, given the White House's stance that Trump remains open to talks with the North Korean leader "without any preconditions." This openness stems from Trump's previous diplomatic engagements with Kim, which included three in-person meetings during his first term. These meetings took place in Singapore in June 2018, Hanoi in February, and at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom in June 2019.