The Guardian
Donald Trump wants North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to know he likes him and will fulfil his wishes, South Korean president Moon Jae-in said on Sunday, a day after meeting the US president at the G20 summit in Argentina.
Moon, who is hoping to host Kim on the first ever trip to Seoul by a North Korean leader, as agreed earlier this year, said Trump had asked him to pass on a message.
“The message is that President Trump has very favourable views toward Chairman Kim and he likes him,” Moon told reporters on a flight to New Zealand, where he started a three-day state visit on Sunday.
“As such, he asked me to tell Chairman Kim that he wants to implement the rest of their agreement together and he will fulfil Chairman Kim’s wishes.”
While striking, the avowal of affection was not as strident as one offered by Trump in September. Then, the president drew applause at a campaign rally by describing “beautiful” letters he had exchanged with Kim and saying: “We fell in love, OK?”
Trump, who met Kim in Singapore in June, said on Saturday he is likely to meet the North Korean leader next in January or February, with three sites under consideration.
“We’re getting along very well,” Trump said on Air Force One. “We have a good relationship.”
Trump added that at some point he will invite Kim to the US.
Kim and Trump pledged at their first meeting to work towards denuclearisation, although the two sides have since made little progress.
The White House said in a statement on Saturday after Trump’s meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping that they and Kim will strive “to see a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula”. The statement said Xi and Trump “agreed that great progress has been made with respect to North Korea”.
Trump has frequently described a warm personal relationship with Kim, arguing that this will help achieve a diplomatic breakthrough.
Trump’s critics say warm words have failed to yield concrete concessions from one of the world’s most authoritarian states.
Moon said a second summit between Kim and Trump will prove to be the “most critical moment” for North Korean denuclearisation.