With North Korea getting all their needs currently met by the Russians there really isn’t any urgency for the Kim regime to engage with the U.S. Additionaly Kim Jong-un has to consider what Putin would think if he sees him meeting with Trump when the war in Ukraine is still ongoing:
U.S. President Donald Trump said he is willing to extend his stay in South Korea in order to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, but Pyongyang has offered no response, maintaining its customary silence ahead of this week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One during his flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Tokyo on Monday, Trump said, “If he [Kim] wants to meet, I’d love to,” adding that he “could go over there” while in South Korea.
He emphasized that he and Kim had a “very good relationship” and that extending the trip would be “easy if needed.” It was the latest in a series of gestures that began before his departure for Asia last week.
You can read more at the link.
Trump already signed a trade deal with Japan so we will see if South Korea decides to follow Japan’s lead or not and sign a trade deal as well:
Hosting the APEC summit for the first time in 20 years gives Lee a rare opportunity to welcome the U.S. and Chinese leaders on his home turf after less than five months in office.
Lee is scheduled to hold summit talks with Trump on Tuesday and with Xi on Saturday. Consultations are under way to arrange a meeting with Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Thursday.
The stakes are particularly high for Lee’s meeting with Trump as Seoul and Washington are in intense negotiations to narrow gaps over South Korea’s US$350 billion investment pledge, aimed at finalizing a trade deal that would reduce U.S. tariffs on Korean goods.
Whether the two sides can clinch an agreement in time for the summit remains uncertain as negotiations continue over key sticking points, including the financing of the investment package.
Wednesday’s summit will mark Lee and Trump’s second in-person meeting following their August talks at the White House.
You can read more at the link.
Congratulations to Kevin Kim for being officially appointed the interim US ambassador to South Korea:
Kevin Kim, a senior official at the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, has been appointed as chargé d’affaires ad interim at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, the embassy announced Monday on its official website.
According to the statement posted on the embassy’s site, Kim “will work with the Embassy team and the Republic of Korea government to advance our mutual interest and shared values, as well as our ironclad commitment to the U.S.-ROK Alliance.”
You can read more at the link.
Japan’s new Prime Minister definitely has an opportunity to impress President Trump this week since she is protege of his good friend Shinzo Abe who was assassinated three years ago:
U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in Tokyo on Monday, meeting with Emperor Naruhito in the evening ahead of a bilateral summit the following day with new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi that will focus on trade, investment and defense spending.
Trump arrived at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport a day after announcing a handful of deals with Southeast Asian nations during a regional summit in Malaysia, part of a whirlwind tour of Asia.
Greeted on the tarmac by U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass and Japan’s top government spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara, the U.S. president’s arrival came as some 18,000 police officershave been mobilized, following a string of high-profile attacks at home and abroad targeting political figures.
While a summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping later this week in South Korea has been the focus of headlines, his meeting with Takaichi, who took office less than a week ago, will be a crucial test of her diplomatic chops.
Takaichi, a protege of slain former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, will be seeking to build a solid relationship with Trump as she looks to navigate increasing pressure from the U.S. on trade and defense issues.
Speaking aboard Air Force One while en route to Tokyo on Monday, Trump said he looked forward to meeting Takaichi.
“I hear phenomenal things,” he said. “She was a great ally and friend of Shinzo Abe, who was my friend. … He was one of my best. … And I know they were very close, and I think philosophically they were close, which is good. It’s going to be very good. That really helps Japan and the United States.”
Shortly after touching down at sunset, Trump took a helicopter to central Tokyo for his meeting with Emperor Naruhito. The U.S. president was the first foreign leader to meet the emperor — whose role is purely symbolic — after he ascended to the throne in 2019.
You can read more at the link.
I doubt this will happen, but it doesn’t hurt to speak respectfully of Kim to not give any reason for a provocation during the summit:
U.S. President Donald Trump has said he is open to meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during his upcoming visit to South Korea next week if Kim would like to meet, in a renewed show of his willingness to resume diplomacy with the reclusive leader.
You can read more at the link.
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