[Anchor]

US President Donald Trump has directly stated that he will meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un within the year. With the US midterm elections just over two months away and the likelihood of successfully concluding the war with Iran fading, many analyze that he is trying to use diplomatic achievements with North Korea as a breakthrough.

We have the first report for today (August 20) from Washington correspondent Lee Hanseok.

[Reporter]

When asked if he expects to meet with Chairman Kim Jong-un within the year, US President Trump asserted without hesitation.

[Trump / US President : (Do you expect to meet with Chairman Kim Jong-un late this year?) Yes, I do.]

If the summit takes place, it will be about seven years since their meeting at Panmunjom in June 2019.

The APEC summit to be held in Shenzhen, China, this coming November is cited as a likely occasion.

Following his previous directive to drastically scale back South Korea-US joint military exercises, President Trump instructed his aides to pursue a North Korea-US summit this fall, laying the groundwork for the resumption of dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang.

Regarding whether they have exchanged personal letters, he said he could not say, but repeatedly emphasized their close relationship.

In particular, Trump revealed North Korea's specific nuclear stockpile for the first time.

[Trump / US President : Kim has 57 very powerful nuclear weapons. That should have never been allowed to happen in the first place. That should have never been permitted.]

This part can be interpreted as acknowledging North Korea's possession of nuclear weapons as a fait accompli.

While criticizing the preceding Joe Biden administration for allowing North Korea to acquire nuclear weapons, Trump stated that things would be fine because he and Chairman Kim get along well, implying that he can effectively manage the North Korean nuclear threat.

Attention is focusing on what impact President Trump's sweeping moves to swiftly restore North Korea-US summit diplomacy will bring to the security landscape of the Korean Peninsula.

(Photo courtesy of Oh Jung-shik | Video Editing by Chae Chul-ho)