US President Donald Trump has once again spotlighted his close relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump made the remarks on Tuesday while answering a question about why North Korea could possess nuclear weapons while Iran was being prevented from acquiring them.
That changed in 2018 when Trump and Kim met in Singapore . The diplomacy continued with a second summit in Hanoi in February 2019 but the meeting ended without an agreement. In June 2019, Trump met Kim again at the Demilitarised Zone.
Because he respects me and he likes me. Because of his relationship with Kim, trump later said he was unhappy about the US participation in the military exercises with South Korea.
Kim Jong Un is a friend of mine,” the US President said. He said that despite the “unfriendly look” in the picture, the two had many moments when they were smiling and “get along GREAT”. In August, Trump again referred to his “very good relationship” with the North Korean leader while ordering the Pentagon to substantially reduce US- South Korea military exercises.
“He happens to be a friend of mine. “He likes Trump…I’m about the only person in the entire world that he likes, and I like him. As long as I’m around, he’s going to be fine. You know why? It was the first meeting between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader. The two sides agreed to work towards new US-North Korea relations and the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula. The main dispute was over how much of North Korea’s nuclear programme should be dismantled and what sanctions relief Pyongyang would receive in return. Trump briefly crossed into North Korea, becoming the first sitting US president to do so. In August, Trump shared an old photograph of himself with Kim on Truth Social. The US President has continued to speak positively about Kim during his second presidency.
Trump and Kim have not met in person since then.
