President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Asia, Friday, Oct. 24, 2025. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo)
"I think they are sort of a nuclear power," Trump said. "I mean, I know how many weapons they have. I know everything about them and I have a very good relationship with Kim Jung Un. When you say they have to be recognized as a nuclear power, well, they’ve got a lot of nuclear weapons, I’ll say that."
South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young urged Trump and Kim to "make a bold decision," according to Reuters, which reported he made the remark to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.
A White House official noted Friday that Trump and the North Korean leader met during his first term in office.
"President Trump in his first term, held three historic summits with North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un that stabilized the Korean Peninsula," the official said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "U.S. policy on North Korea has not changed. President Trump remains open to talking with Kim Jong Un, but such a meeting is not currently on the schedule for this trip."
North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump shake hands during a meeting on the south side of the Military Demarcation Line that divides North and South Korea, in the Joint Security Area (JSA) of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized zone (DMZ) on June 30, 2019. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
NORTH KOREA LAUNCHES BALLISTIC MISSILES DAYS BEFORE TRUMP'S VISIT TO THE PENINSULA
The week-long trip includes stops in Malaysia, Japan and South Korea. Additionally, the White House said that Trump will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit.
In 2018, during his first term, Trump and Kim met in what was the first ever U.S.-North Korea summit. The meeting took place in Singapore. A joint statement at the time said that the two leaders "conducted a comprehensive, in-depth, and sincere exchange of opinions on the issues related to the establishment of new U.S.-DPRK relations."
A summit between Kim and Trump in Hanoi, Vietnam, in February 2019 ended without the two reaching a deal.
President Donald Trump greets North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un at the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on June 30, 2019. (API/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
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One year later, in June 2019, Trump met Kim again, this time in the DMZ, making him the first sitting U.S. leader to set foot in North Korea. He took 20 steps into North Korean territory during the visit where he shook hands with Kim.
When speaking to reporters in 2019, Trump said he and Kim agreed to revive talks on North Korea's nuclear program. He said he was not aiming to make a deal fast, but rather to "get it right."
Rachel Wolf is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and FOX Business.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-says-hes-open-meeting-kim-jong-un-during-asia-trip-north-korea-sort-nuclear-power