By Euronews with AP
Published on
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In a meeting in the Oval Office with South Korea’s new president, Lee Jae Myung, US President Donald Trump stated his interest in meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as early as this year. Recalling his 2019 visit into North Korea from the demilitarized zone (DMZ) with South Korea, Trump expressed feeling safe due to his good relationship with Kim, which he hopes will continue.
“I felt safe because of my great relationship with Kim Jong-un. I hope it stays that way, I think it will,” he said to reporters. He also mentioned spending private time discussing topics they might not be supposed to talk about, adding, “I just get along with him really well. I think [North Korea has] tremendous potential.”
President Lee of South Korea encouraged Trump to keep supporting Korean peace efforts, even jesting about the possibility of a Trump Tower in North Korea. Before the meeting, Trump had threatened not to engage in business with Seoul due to a “Purge or Revolution” he claimed was happening there. However, after Lee praised him profusely—including the Oval Office’s decor—any tension between the two dissolved.
This friendly exchange is reminiscent of how other world leaders, seeking favorable trade agreements and military assistance, have opted to praise and admire Trump rather than confront him. Although Trump was asked if he’d consider reducing the US military presence in South Korea, he avoided a direct answer but expressed a desire to renegotiate the US lease for a significant military base.
Osan Air Base, a joint US and South Korean operation on the west coast of South Korea, is the base in question. “I would like to see if we could get rid of the lease and obtain ownership of the land where we have a massive military base,” Trump mentioned.
