Trump Signals Renewed Engagement with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un

President Donald Trump has indicated his intention to reach out to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un following his return to the White House, Al Jazeera reports.

Trump, during a Thursday interview, responded affirmatively when asked if he would “reach out” to Kim.

“I will, yeah. He liked me.”

Trump and Kim established an unusually close relationship during Trump’s first term, a dynamic that stood in stark contrast to the long-standing tensions between the two nations since the Korean War. Trump has frequently described their rapport as “very, very good” and has publicly referred to Kim as a “smart guy.”

The two leaders met on three separate occasions between 2018 and 2019, with Trump making history in 2019 as the first sitting US president to visit North Korea since the 1953 armistice that effectively ended the Korean War.

Following his re-election in November, Trump’s team has acknowledged considering the reopening of “direct talks” with Kim. This close relationship, however, has previously caused friction with South Korea, a key US ally, and potentially within his own administration as Trump begins his second term.

Senator Marco Rubio, Trump’s nominee for Secretary of State, has voiced strong criticisms of Kim. During his Senate confirmation hearing, Rubio called Kim a “dictator” and stressed the need for a “very serious look at broader North Korean policies.”