In a lengthy, off-script speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin accepting his official GOP nomination for the upcoming presidential election in November, Trump said, "I get along with him, he'd like to see me back too. I think he misses me, if you want to know."
He added, "It's nice to get along with somebody who has a lot of nuclear weapons."
Trump also claimed that he had "stopped the missile launches from North Korea," pointing out that the world is on the brink of World War III. "The war is now raging in Europe and the Middle East. A growing specter of conflict hangs over Taiwan, Korea, the Philippines and all of Asia, and our planet is teetering on the edge of World War III," he said.
He then pledged that he would end all international crises created by the current Biden administration if re-elected.
During his presidency, Trump met Kim three times through summits in Singapore in June 2018, in Hanoi in February 2019, and in the truce village of Panmunjeom in June 2019, but those were mere photo-ops rather than focusing on the North's denuclearization.
Trump's remarks suggest that he would engage in talks with the North if he returns to the White House.
In a press briefing earlier, Trump's close aide, Richard Grenell, former ambassador to Germany, also said Trump will pursue diplomacy "no matter what the country is," suggesting an possible rapprochement with North Korea. Trump is "going to engage and fight for America. And so (it) doesn't matter who is the leader of a country," he said.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
