Trump, South Korea’s Lee Signal Openness to Kim Jong Un Talks

United States President Donald Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung have both said they’re willing to meet North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un, during Lee’s first official visit to the White House.

Lee, who has promised to “heal the wounds of division and war,” told Trump on Monday that Kim “will be waiting” to meet him. He even joked that Trump should “build a Trump Tower in North Korea so that I can play golf there.”

Trump, who has already met Kim three times, told reporters he’d be happy to do so again:

“Someday, I’ll see him. I look forward to seeing him. He was very good with me,” he said, adding he knew Kim “better than anybody, almost, other than his sister.”

During the meeting, Trump also suggested the US should outright own the land where 28,500 American troops are based in South Korea:

“We spent a lot of money building a fort, and there was a contribution made by South Korea, 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.”

Lee was elected in June after the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk-yeol, who declared martial law last year before being removed and later arrested on insurrection charges. Since taking office, Lee has been pushing to improve ties with Pyongyang, including restoring the 2018 inter-Korean military agreement suspending border drills.

North Korea, however, isn’t buying it. State media blasted Seoul for continuing military exercises with Washington, warning that if drills continue, the US and South Korea will “pay a dear price.”

Trump also stirred things up before the summit, posting on Truth Social that South Korea seemed to be undergoing “a Purge or Revolution,” pointing to raids on religious groups tied to political scandals. South Korean prosecutors and police have indeed been raiding churches linked to allies of ousted President Yoon, sparking debate over the country’s political stability.

So while both Trump and Lee are signaling openness to dialogue with Kim, tensions on the peninsula — and in Seoul’s own politics — remain raw.