One day after ordering the Army to reduce military exercises with South Korea due to Seoul's snub in the war against Iran, President Donald Trump stated on Monday he contacted North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Trump's relationship with Kim has received less attention from the White House in this second term, as it is worth remembering that both leaders met and exchanged letters in 2018 and 2019, but the U.S. president has repeatedly expressed his interest in reviving direct diplomacy with the North Korean leader.
When a journalist asked him in the Oval Office why Kim had not responded to his attempts to resume contact, Trump replied: "He has" and did not provide further details.
Last year, Kim's influential sister, Kim Yo Jong, acknowledged that the personal relationship between her brother and Trump "was not bad", but warned that her regime would not give up its nuclear weapons. The last meeting between the two leaders was in 2019. Since then, and due to Joe Biden's disastrous management, North Korea has moved closer to Russia while maintaining close relations with China.
Thus, North Korean troops have fought alongside Russia in its invasion of Ukraine, and Kyiv reported last week that Vladimir Putin's army is using North Korean weaponry.
On Sunday, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that the military exercises were "not only costly... but also send a totally inappropriate and hostile signal to a country that, while Donald J. Trump has been president, has been respectful and poses no threat".
Trump ordered to cut joint military exercises with South Korea
