Trump open to communication with North Korea's Kim Jong Un

12/6/2025 6:16

President Donald Trump

would welcome communications with North Korean leader Kim Jong

Un after having had friendly relations with Kim during his first

term, the White House said on Wednesday.



"The president remains receptive to correspondence with Kim

Jong Un," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told

reporters.



Trump and Kim held three summits during Trump's 2017-2021

first term and exchanged a number of what Trump called

"beautiful" letters. In June 2019, Trump briefly stepped into

North Korea from the demilitarized zone with South Korea.



Little progress was made, however, at reining in North

Korea's nuclear program, and Trump acknowledged in March that

Pyongyang is a "nuclear power."



The attempts at rapprochement come after the election in

South Korea of a new president, Lee Jae-myung, who has pledged

to reopen dialogue with North Korea.



Analysts say, however, that engaging North Korea will likely

be more difficult for both Lee and Trump than it was in the U.S.

president's first term.



Since then North Korea has significantly expanded its

nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, and developed

close ties with Russia through direct support for Moscow's war

in Ukraine, to which Pyongyang has provided both troops and

weaponry.



Since Trump's first-term summitry with Kim Jong Un ended,

North Korea has shown no interest in returning to talks.