Trump Says Kim Jong-un 'Will Be Fine' As Long As He's Around, Praises 'Friend' With Substantial Nuclear Capabilities

U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly sent conciliatory messages on September 29 (local time), emphasizing his close relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and acknowledging that Kim possesses nuclear weapons.

Meeting with reporters at the White House that day, when asked, "You say Iran cannot have nuclear weapons, why can North Korea?", President Trump responded, "You know why? Because we had a different president."

This implied that his predecessor, Joe Biden, failed to stop North Korea's nuclear development.

President Trump continued, "Kim Jong-un is my friend. He likes Trump. He doesn't like a lot of other people," adding, "I'm the only person in the world he likes, and I like him. When I say that, I get criticized. People say that's terrible."

President Trump specifically remarked, "He has nuclear capabilities. A very substantial amount of nuclear," and "Not as much as us, but he has nuclear capabilities."

President Trump stated, "You know why? Because we had a president who didn't do what I did. We had presidents who weren't Trump, and they didn't stop it," adding, "As long as I'm around, he (Kim) will be fine."

President Trump's remarks came in response to questions from a reporter while on the White House grounds.

The remarks are interpreted as a bid to woo North Korea for the resumption of a summit, as President Trump emphasized his close ties with Chairman Kim, noted that Kim possesses a substantial arsenal of nuclear weapons, and even hinted that Kim's safety would be guaranteed during his own term.


Previously, on August 16, President Trump ordered a significant scaling down of the South Korea-U.S. joint annual military exercise, Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS), while extending an olive branch of dialogue toward Chairman Kim. On August 19, he stated that Kim has "57 very powerful nuclear weapons," effectively taking North Korea's status as a nuclear power as a given, and vowed to "meet him within the year."

President Trump, who had refrained from making public remarks regarding North Korea or Chairman Kim for a while, did not mention "North Korea" at all during his high-level UN General Assembly speech at UN headquarters in New York on September 22.

Ultimately, President Trump's remarks that day appear to show that he still harbors a willingness to resume summit talks with Chairman Kim without setting the precondition of "North Korea's denuclearization."

Peninsula experts in the U.S. have raised the prospect that President Trump could meet with Chairman Kim on the occasion of attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit held in Shenzhen, China, next month.

President Trump and Chairman Kim last met at Panmunjom in June 2019.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.