United States President Donald Trump said that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has responded positively to a dialogue overture, following an order to substantially reduce joint military exercises with South Korea.
Presidential Dialogue Overtures and Pyongyang’s Response
When questioned by reporters during a press availability at the White House regarding whether the North Korean leader had replied to requests for engagement, Trump dismissed skepticism with a direct exchange.
“How do you know he hasn’t responded?”
President Donald Trump, via YNA
Asked in a follow-up whether Kim had, Trump stated, “Yeah, he has.” However, the president did not elaborate, leaving it unclear when or how the two leaders interacted or what they discussed. Asked to comment further on his conversation with Kim, Trump described it as “very positive.”
Scaling Back Joint Military Drills and Regional Security
In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump said he has instructed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to substantially scale back military exercises with South Korea. Pointing out that based on his “very goodrelationship with Kim, he wasnot happythat the U.S. has agreed to join those exercises, Trump argued that the allied drills arenot only costlybut also send atotally inappropriate and hostilesignal to North Korea that he said has beenunthreatening and respectful” during his time in office.
Asked by a reporter to respond to the view that he is prioritizing the interests of North Korea over America’s longtime ally, South Korea, by scaling back joint drills, Trump argued that he is making the security situation “much safer.”
“I get along with (Kim) very well. No, what I am doing is making things safer, just the opposite.”
President Donald Trump, via YNA
Trump also boasted that Kim has always treated him with great respect. He noted that they met on numerous occasions, actually two primary occasions, spoken and spent time, stating, I understand him. He understands me. Trump had three in-person meetings with Kim during his first term: the first meeting in Singapore in June 2018, the second in Hanoi in February 2019 and the third at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom in June 2019.
Alliance Tensions Over Defense Costs and the Iran Conflict
Noting that he recently had a call with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, Trump said that Lee declined to accede to his request for Seoul’s help regarding the Iran war, though he called Lee very nice actually. Trump recalled telling Lee, Would you like to give us a little hand? We don't need help with Iran, but if you'd like, give us a hand with Iran. He said, 'No thanks.'
Trump expressed his unease over an ally’s perceived refusal to support the U.S. during the Iran war, stressing that all he wants is “fairness.”
“Wait a minute. We have 39,000 soldiers over there guarding you from Kim Jong-un, your next-door neighbor, and you are not going to help us on a very easy military operation in Iran. That’s strange.”
Trump says talking to North Korea’s Kim makes the south safer
President Donald Trump, via YNA
Trump claimed that during his first term, South Korea agreed to pay close to US$3 billion a year in an apparent reference to Seoul’s financial contributions to the upkeep of the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea, but his predecessor, Joe Biden, rescinded that payment order. We would have been getting paid a lot more, but we can't go around and protect all of these countries, especially when they are not there to help us, he said. Trump has repeatedly expressed his displeasure over allies’ lack of support for the U.S. in its war efforts against Iran, noting in April that South Korea was “not helpfulto the U.S. despite Washington having stationed its troopsin harm’s way” in the Asian country.
Uncertainty Ahead for Diplomacy and Allied Strategy
While the administration highlights personal diplomacy as a pathway, uncertainty remains over whether the North could return to diplomacy amid deepening cooperation with Moscow. At the same time, speculation persists over whether the directive on allied exercises could create room for the resumption of dialogue with Pyongyang as defense planners navigate the shifting security landscape on the Korean Peninsula.
Photo: YNATrump says making South Korea ‘much safer’ by scaling back joint military drills | AFP
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