There is a considerable chance that Donald Trump may meet North Korean tyrant Kim Jong-un within days, according to a South Korean official.
The American president is due to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum in South Korea next week.
Officials believe he will seize the opportunity to have a summit with Kim while there.
It has also been reported in US media that members of Trump’s administration have privately discussed arranging a meeting with Kim, who he last held talks with in 2019.
South Korea’s unification minister, Chung Dong-young, told reporters that Kim’s officials appeared ‘to be paying attention to the United States and various signs… suggest a considerable possibility of a meeting’.
Trump has said he hopes to meet Kim again – possibly this year.
Meanwhile, Kim said last month he had ‘fond memories’ of Trump and was open to talks if the United States dropped its ‘delusional’ demand that Pyongyang give up its nuclear weapons.
Seoul on Friday urged the two leaders not to let the chance ‘slip away’.
Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un’s last meeting in 2019 at the North Korean side of the border at the Demilitarised Zone
‘I don’t want to miss even a one per cent chance,’ the unification minister said.
‘They need to make a decision,’ Chung, whose ministry handles fraught relations with the North, added.
Kim and Trump last met in 2019 at Panmunjom in the Joint Security Area in the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas – the only place where soldiers from both sides face each other on a regular basis.
While no official announcements of the duo’s meeting have been made, South Korea and the United Nations Command halted tours of the JSA from late October to early November.
Minister Chung said North Koreans have been spotted ‘sprucing up’ areas near the JSA for the first time this year – cleaning, pulling weeds, tidying flower beds and taking photos around Panmunjom.
Trump has also shared positive sentiments when it comes to Kim. Speaking to Fox News earlier this year, he said: ‘I got along with him. He is not a religious zealot. He happens to be a smart guy.’
Although Washington had sent messages, there had been no response from Pyongyang.
During that time, North Korea has accelerated its nuclear ambitions and also aligned itself with Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin.
It has been estimated that Kim sent over 11,000 troops to fight in Putin’s war against Ukraine.
Although Trump and Kim appear to be on friendly terms now, it has not always been cordial.
Although the pair appear to be on cordial terms now, they have engaged in a fiery war of words in the past
In 2017, the two engaged in a war of words laced with threats. Writing about Trump in a statement, Kim said: ‘Action is the best option in treating the dotard who, hard of hearing, is uttering only what he wants to say.’
He also added: ‘I will surely and definitely tame the mentally deranged US dotard with fire.’
Trump, on his part, refused to use Kim’s name when speaking in his first address to the United Nations as president.
Instead, he chose to call him ‘Rocket Man’, a nickname he continuously used during their feud.
Trump also said in August 2017: ‘North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States. They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.’
But tensions were later quelled, with the two men having their first meeting in June 2018 in Singapore.
Meanwhile, White House officials confirmed that Trump will meet with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, while in South Korea.
The meeting has reportedly been planned for weeks, but many speculated whether it would go ahead due to the rising tensions between the two men.
It comes after Trump said he would impose an extra 100 per cent tariff on Chinese imports from November if Beijing does not scale back restrictions on its rare earth exports.
It will be the first meeting between the two leaders after Trump’s return to power in January.
