(LEAD) Trump voices desire to reestablish ties with Kim Jong-un, says Kim has ‘a lot of’ nuclear arms
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By Song Sang-ho
WASHINGTON, March 13 (Yonhap) — U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday expressed his desire to reestablish the relationship that he had with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during his first term, boasting that he “got along great” with the reclusive leader and still has a “great” relationship with him.
During a press availability, Trump made the remarks, describing the North Korean leader as a “nuclear power” with “a lot of nuclear weapons,” as his administration is pursuing the goal of the “complete denuclearization” of North Korea.
“Well, I would,” Trump said, responding to a reporter’s question of whether he has a plan to reestablish the relationship he had under his first presidential mandate.
“I had a great relationship with Kim Jong-un (of) North Korea. If I wasn’t elected, if Hillary got in, you would have had a nuclear war with North Korea,” he added, as he sat next to North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House for talks.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the press as he meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House in Washington on March 13, 2025 in this photo released by AFP. (Yonhap)
Trump claimed he continues to maintain a good relationship with Kim.
“I have a great relationship with Kim Jong-un, and we’ll see what happens,” he said. “But certainly, he’s a nuclear power.”
It is not the first time that he has depicted North Korea as a nuclear power — a term that U.S. officials had mostly refrained from publicly using given that the term could be construed as a U.S. recognition of Pyongyang’s possession of nuclear weapons.
Shortly after his inauguration on Jan. 20, he used the term to refer to North Korea, spawning speculation about his intentions behind the nuclear power labeling. Speculation eased later as the White House said his administration is pursuing the complete denuclearization of North Korea.
Highlighting his hope to bring down the number of nuclear weapons in the world, Trump pointed out North Korea’s sizable nuclear arsenal.
“Kim Jong-un has a lot of nuclear weapons by the way … a lot and others do also,” he said. “You have India. You have Pakistan. You have others that have them.”
The president credited the first Trump administration with South Korea’s successful hosting of the Olympics, where North Korea partook, apparently in reference to the PyeongChang Olympics held in February 2018.
“They (North Koreans) asked for a meeting. And then we met. And the meeting caused the Olympics, which was South Korea, to become a tremendous success,” he said.
“Nobody was buying tickets for the Olympics because they didn’t want to be nuked, and I met and not only did the Olympics become successful, but North Korea participated in the Olympics … That was something that was an achievement of the Trump administration … great achievement.”
It is unclear what meeting he referred to as his first summit with Kim took place in June 2018 months after the Olympics.
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