Diplomacy & Geopolitics
Trump says he will meet Kim Jong Un this year
US President Donald Trump said he would meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un later in 2026, giving no details but signalling an effort to revive direct diplomacy with Pyongyang.
Asked at the White House whether he planned to meet Kim later this year, Trump said: “Yeah, I will be.” The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump was considering a meeting when he travels to Shenzhen, China, for an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in November.
Trump also said North Korea had 57 “very powerful” nuclear weapons. South Korean Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back told lawmakers Thursday that Seoul usually estimates North Korea's arsenal at around 80 to 120 nuclear weapons, while declining to give a specific figure.
Ahn said South Korea remained opposed to officially recognising North Korea as a nuclear weapons state. Asked whether Washington had given up on North Korea's denuclearisation, he said he did not believe so.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said late Wednesday that he would “do his utmost” to support and contribute to Trump's peacemaking efforts with North Korea.
Trump defended planning to meet Kim while also saying he could not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon. He said he knew Kim “very well” and that the North Korean leader would be “fine.”
The comments came after Trump said he had ordered Washington to scale back US-South Korean military drills, citing his relationship with Kim. Trump said the drills were “very insulting” to Kim and described him as “very well behaved.”
South Korea said the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises with the United States would end about a week earlier than planned at the suggestion of the US side. The Pentagon said the reduced drills would cause “no degradation to US training objectives.”
Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong Un's sister, said Wednesday she was “completely unaware” of recent reports from Washington about communication between the leaders of North Korea and the United States. She said her brother still had “good memories and feelings” about Trump and that the relationship between the two leaders remained “excellent.”
She also dismissed the reduction in US-South Korean drills, saying North Korea did not consider it worth commenting on. North Korea has long objected to the exercises, describing them as rehearsals for invasion.
Trump met Kim three times during his first term. Their last meeting was in 2019. The United States stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War that ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.
Update
South Korean Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back said Seoul estimates North Korea has around 80 to 120 nuclear weapons.
Ahn said South Korea remains opposed to officially recognising North Korea as a nuclear weapons state.
Ahn said he did not believe Washington had given up on North Korea's denuclearisation.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said he would support and contribute to Trump's peacemaking efforts with North Korea.
The Wall Street Journal reported Trump was considering a meeting during travel to Shenzhen, China, for an APEC summit in November.
Source note: AFP news report published on 20 August 2026 at 03:43:49 UTC.
Update
Trump said the US-South Korea drills were “very insulting” to Kim Jong Un and described Kim as “very well behaved.”
Kim Yo Jong said she was unaware of reported communication between the US and North Korean leaders, while saying Kim Jong Un still had good memories and feelings about Trump.
South Korea said the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises would end about a week earlier than planned at the suggestion of the US side.
The Pentagon said the reduced drills would cause no degradation to US training objectives.
Source note: AFP news report published on 19 August 2026 at 21:31:21 UTC.
Update
Trump said North Korea has 57 "very powerful" nuclear weapons.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump was considering a meeting with Kim Jong Un during travel to China for an APEC summit in November.
Trump said he gave no details of the planned meeting and would not confirm whether he and Kim were exchanging letters.
Kim Jong Un's sister said she was unaware of reported communication between Kim and Trump but said their ties remained excellent.
The meeting would be the first encounter between Trump and Kim during Trump's second term.
Source note: AFP news report published on 19 August 2026 at 16:11:13 UTC.
Update
Trump said he would meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un later in 2026.
Source note: AFP news report published on 19 August 2026 at 15:29:26 UTC.
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Donald Trump said Kim Jong Un had responded to his requests for a conversation, but gave no details.
Trump said the stage of the conversations with Kim was “very positive”.
Trump said his relationship with Kim was making the situation with North Korea safer.
Trump again criticised South Korea, including over what he described as its refusal to help with US military operations against Iran.
Source note: AFP news report published on 17 August 2026 at 18:47:53 UTC.
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South Korea's presidential office said it hoped the friendly relationship between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un would lead to meaningful dialogue between the United States and North Korea.
Source note: AFP news report published on 17 August 2026 at 06:04:36 UTC.
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South Korea said it would “coordinate closely” with the United States on the joint military drills.
Source note: AFP news report published on 17 August 2026 at 05:51:25 UTC.
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South Korea said it hoped for “meaningful dialogue” between the United States and North Korea.
Source note: AFP news report published on 17 August 2026 at 05:52:58 UTC.
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Trump cited what he called his good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un when criticising the drills.
Colonel Ryan Donald said the exercise would simulate combat against North Korean troops hardened by deployment in the Russia-Ukraine war.
Leif-Eric Easley said downsizing the drills could damage alliance coordination and weaken deterrence.
The item adds context about North Korea's military support for Russia and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's offers of talks with Pyongyang.
Source note: AFP news report published on 17 August 2026 at 04:09:28 UTC.
Update
US President Donald Trump described the drills as “inappropriate and hostile” and said he had ordered Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to substantially reduce them because it was too late to cancel them.
South Korea's defence ministry said the drills had begun and would proceed as previously notified and scheduled.
The exercise involves 18,000 South Korean troops and US counterparts in the country, according to a US-South Korean Combined Forces Command spokesman cited in the item.
The exercise is scheduled to focus more on drone warfare, GPS disruption and cyber attacks.
North Korea fired missiles twice this month in actions widely seen as a protest against the drills and warned Friday it could respond with “a new level of deterrent”.
North Korea expert Lim Eul-chul told AFP that Pyongyang was unlikely to see a reduction as meaningful unless the drills were cancelled entirely.
Source note: AFP news report published on 17 August 2026 at 01:55:04 UTC.
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South Korea says joint military drills with the United States have started.
Source note: AFP news report published on 17 August 2026 at 00:09:38 UTC.
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South Korea's defence ministry said the joint drills would proceed as previously notified and scheduled when asked about Trump's post.
Source note: AFP news report published on 16 August 2026 at 22:53:12 UTC.
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The exercise is named Ulchi Freedom Shield and is due to start Monday and run for 11 days.
Trump said it was too late to cancel the drills and that he had ordered Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to substantially reduce them.
A US-South Korean command spokesman said the exercise would simulate combat against North Korean troops with experience from the Russia-Ukraine war.
The exercise involves 18,000 South Korean troops and counterparts from the 28,500 US personnel stationed in South Korea, with focus areas including drone warfare, GPS disruption and cyber attacks.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has offered North Korea talks without preconditions since taking office in June 2025, but North Korea has not responded.
Source note: AFP news report published on 16 August 2026 at 21:46:47 UTC.
Update
Trump said he was "not happy" about US participation in the joint exercises with South Korea.
Trump said he had ordered his secretary of defense to "substantially reduce" the exercises.
The drills are described as starting Monday and aimed at deterring North Korea.
Trump said the exercises were costly and sent what he called an inappropriate and hostile signal.
Trump referred to his "very good relationship" with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Source note: AFP news report published on 16 August 2026 at 21:28:26 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
No date, location or agenda for a Trump-Kim meeting has been announced.
Trump's public figure of 57 North Korean nuclear weapons differs from South Korea's estimate of around 80 to 120.
Source
AFP news report published on .