[Anchor]
The possibility of a North Korea-U.S. summit, which was reported by foreign media yesterday (August 19), has now been directly confirmed by President Trump himself. President Trump has officially stated that he will meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un within this year. He also disclosed a specific figure, stating that North Korea possesses 57 nuclear weapons. However, when asked whether the goal of this dialogue is denuclearization, he avoided a direct answer, saying he did not wish to talk about it.
For our first report, we go to Washington, D.C., and correspondent Lee Hanseok.
[Reporter]
When asked whether he expects to meet with Chairman Kim Jong-un within the year, President Trump answered without hesitation.
[Donald Trump / U.S. President : (Are you planning to meet with Chairman Kim toward the end of this year?) Yes, I am.]
He then specifically mentioned North Korea's nuclear arsenal.
[Donald Trump / U.S. President : Chairman Kim has 57 very powerful nuclear weapons. That should never have been allowed to happen in the first place. It is something that should never have been permitted. If I had been president, that would not have happened. But anyway, he has got them.]
He argued that although North Korea already came to possess nuclear weapons due to the mistakes of the Biden administration, there is no problem because he gets along well with Chairman Kim Jong-un.
[Donald Trump / U.S. President : We cannot let Iran get a nuclear weapon. And I know Kim Jong-un very well, and he will be fine. As long as there is a smart president (in the U.S.), he will be fine.]
Unlike Iran, which faced a total blockade even at the risk of war, this is interpreted as an intention to acknowledge the realistic threat of North Korea—which already possesses nuclear weapons—and manage it well himself.
After the failed summits in 2018 and 2019, when asked whether North Korean denuclearization remains the goal of trying to talk with Chairman Kim, he stated that he did not want to talk about it.
[Donald Trump / U.S. President : Well, I don't want to talk about that, but as you know, I have a good relationship with Kim Jong-un.]
Some analyze that a tug-of-war for the resumption of dialogue has begun, given that North Korea is putting forward the abandonment of denuclearization as a precondition.
(Video reporting: Oh Jung-shik, Video editing: Lee Seung-yeol)
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