US President Donald Trump said that he hopes to meet with Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), later this year.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Monday during the outset of his meeting with visiting South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, Trump said he maintains a "very good relationship" with Kim and looks forward to meeting him again, Xinhua news agency reported.
"I get along with him really well. I think he has a country of great potential, tremendous potential," Trump said.
During Trump's first presidential term, he and Kim first met in Singapore in June 2018, marking the first-ever US-DPRK summit. They met again in Hanoi, Vietnam in February 2019, and later that June in the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom.
During the Oval Office meeting, President Lee lavished praise on Trump's interior design and diplomacy. He said: "I hope you can bring peace to the Korean Peninsula, the only divided nation in the world, so that you can meet with Kim Jong Un, build a Trump World (real-estate complex) in North Korea so that I can play golf there, and so that you can truly play a role as a world-historical peacemaker."
Lee also referenced Trump's past diplomacy with North Korea, suggesting that Kim would not have advanced his nuclear capabilities if Trump had remained in office.
(With inputs from IANS)
