In a development likely to generate renewed global interest in U.S.–North Korea negotiations, senior Trump administration officials are reportedly considering whether President Donald Trump should meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Trump’s shortly to be publicized visit to Asia, CNN sources familiar with the negotiations say.
Although discussions are at a preliminary level, the sources emphasized that yet no real logistics or direct diplomatic engagement with Pyongyang has been initiated. The idea, they said, is a concept in preliminary-stage diplomatic moves and not an irrevocable plan for a summit.
Background: A Strained but Symbolic Relationship
US-North Korean relations have seesawed wildly ever since Trump’s first term. After three record-breaking face-to-face meetings between Trump and Kim between 2018 and 2019 — a historic summit in Singapore included — communication between the two nuclear powers essentially came to a stop.
Efforts to restart talks on denuclearization and sanctions relief have repeatedly collapsed, each side accusing the other of bad faith.
Last month, the Trump administration, according to sources, made initial outreach attempts to Pyongyang but was refused in blunt terms by North Korea, suggesting continued reluctance to reengage on current terms. North Korea has instead been busy securing ties with Russia and China and working on its missile projects, analysts said.
Trump’s Renewed Interest in Diplomacy
In August, Trump went public with his desire to reconnect with Kim Jong Un after welcoming South Korean President Lee Jae Myung to the White House — their first official meeting. Trump called diplomacy “the path to stability in Asia” and suggested that “doors should never be permanently closed” on peace in the Korean Peninsula.
Sources close to the administration say Trump views a potential meeting as both strategic imperative and symbolic move to reaffirm U.S. leadership in the region amid China’s increasing ascendancy. The administration is also said to be balancing the timing of any meeting, weighing whether the present U.S. military drill in the Pacific and rising regional tensions between Taiwan and the South China Sea justify it.
Expert Reactions
Foreign policy analysts have responded with a mixture of reactions.
Dr. Hannah Lee, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), commented:
“A Trump–Kim meeting, informal or not, might reawaken frozen channels of communication. But expectations should still be realistic — North Korea’s sanctions and nuclear deterrent stance hasn’t changed.”
Others warn that Pyongyang would manipulate such talks to become legitimate without making real concessions. “North Korea has employed summits before to strengthen its global standing, as opposed to making concessions,” said ex-U.S. diplomat Joseph Yun, who helped broker the inaugural 2018 Singapore summit.
Regional and Global Stakes
Should the summit take place, it would be the first high-level U.S.–North Korea dialogue since 2019, potentially reshaping diplomatic dynamics throughout East Asia.
South Korea, a close ally of the U.S., is claimed to favor the return to talks but is cautious over Trump’s volatile style. Japan and China, however, are waiting attentively, as any thaw in U.S.–North Korean relations might realign the regional balance of power.
Thus far, the White House has not confirmed or denied the CNN report. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt indicated only that “President Trump remains committed to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.”
Whether or not this cautious diplomatic gesture brings a full-fledged summit is uncertain, but it is a hint that one of the most salacious dynasties of modern-day diplomacy is reviving — that of the mercurial bromance between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un.
