US President Donald Trump left on Friday for Asia and high-stakes trade talks with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping — adding that he would also like to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on his trip.
Trump is set to meet Xi in South Korea on the last day of his regional swing in a bid to seal a deal to end the bruising trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.
He will also visit Malaysia and Japan on his first trip to Asia since he returned to the White House in January in a blaze of tariffs and international deal making.
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he hoped for a “very good meeting” with Xi, adding that he expected China to make a deal to avoid further 100 percent tariffs that are due to come into effect on November 1.
Kim Meeting
As he left Washington, Trump added to speculation that while on the Korean peninsula he could meet Kim Jong Un for the first time since 2019.
“I would. If you want to put out the word, I’m open to it,” Trump added aboard the presidential plane. “I had a great relationship with him.”
.@KellieMeyerNews and I asked Trump if he plans to meet with Kim Jong Un on his trip to Asia —
“I don’t know. We let him know. He knows that I’m going there. I get along with him very well.” pic.twitter.com/T3j3ZrTsob
— Kit Maher (@KitMaherCNN) October 25, 2025
The two leaders last met in Hanoi, Vietnam, during Trump’s first term. Kim has said he would also be open to meeting the US president if Washington drops its demand that Pyongyang give up its nuclear arsenal.
Seoul’s reunification minister has said there is a “considerable” chance that Trump and Kim will meet while the US leader is in South Korea, mainly for a regional summit.
N. Korea “Sort of a Nuclear Power”
Asked aboard Air Force One whether he was open to North Korea’s demand to be recognised as a nuclear state as a precondition for dialogue with Washington, Trump replied: “Well, I think they are sort of a nuclear power.”
“When you say they have to be recognized as a nuclear power, well, they got a lot of nuclear weapons, I’ll say that,” he said as quoted by AFP.
Trump on board Air Force One:
– If Kim Jong Un would like to meet, “I’m open to it”
– On recognising North Korea as a nuclear power: “I think they are sort of a nuclear power, I mean, I know how many weapons they have”Source: White House (edited) https://t.co/DVZ50ryuCt https://t.co/pftC70q3nD pic.twitter.com/f2YJd5vBSE
— Raphael Rashid (@koryodynasty) October 25, 2025
Source: Agencies
