Trump says he could meet Kim at DMZ
NoKor calls offer ‘very interesting’
OSAKA (AP) — Eyeing a history-making photo opportunity, US President Donald Trump yesterday issued a Twitter invitation to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to meet for a handshake during a visit to the demilitarized zone (DMZ) with South Korea, and even expressed willingness to cross the border into the isolated nation.
The invitation, while long rumored in diplomatic circles, still struck as an impulsive display of showmanship by a president bent on obtaining a legacy-defining nuclear accord. North Korea responded by calling the offer a “very interesting suggestion.”
Presidential visits to the DMZ are traditionally treated as carefully guarded secrets for security reasons. White House officials could not immediately say whether Kim had agreed to meet with Trump. The president himself claimed he was not even sure Kim was in North Korea to accept the invitation.
“All I did is put out a feeler, if you’d like to meet,” Trump said later of the message to Kim.
“I just thought of it this morning,” he added, somewhat implausibly.
Trump was scheduled to fly to South Korea yesterday after the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Japan. Speaking at a news conference before departing Osaka, Trump said, “I’m literally visiting the DMZ,” but added he was not sure whether Kim would meet him.
Trump said he would “feel very comfortable” crossing the border into North Korea if Kim shows up, adding he would “have no problem” becoming the first US president to step over into North Korea while he is there.
Trump’s comments followed hours after he asked for Kim to meet him there.
“If Chairman Kim of North Korea sees this, I would meet him at the Border/DMZ just to shake his hand and say Hello(?)!” Trump wrote.
It was not immediately clear what the agenda, if any, would be for the potential third Trump-Kim meeting.
“If he’s there we’ll see each other for two minutes,” Trump predicted.
Still, such a spectacle would present a valuable propaganda victory for Kim, who, with his family, has long been denied the recognition they sought on the international stage.
Despite Trump’s comments yesterday, he had told The Hill newspaper in an interview this week that he would be visiting the DMZ and “might” meet with Kim. The paper reported it had withheld Trump’s comments, citing security concerns by the White House.
North Korea’s First Vice Foreign Minister Choe Sonhui said the meeting, if realized, would serve as “another meaningful occasion in further deepening the personal relations between the two leaders and advancing the bilateral relations.”
South Korea’s presidential Blue House said in a tweet that Trump asked South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the G20 meetings whether he had seen Trump’s Twitter message to Kim.
When Moon replied he had, Trump said, “(Let’s) try doing it,” and raised his thumb, the Blue House said.