U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed on Wednesday that plans for a potential meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during his visit to South Korea did not materialize, ending widespread speculation about a possible reunion between the two leaders.
Trump, who is currently touring Asia, told reporters that “timing” issues prevented the encounter, though he maintained that his relationship with Kim remains cordial and that a future meeting could still happen.
“I know Kim Jong Un very well… we really weren’t able to work out timing,” Trump said. “At some point, we’ll be involved with North Korea. I think they’d like to, and I’d like to.”
The comments came after Trump’s arrival in Seoul for talks with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, during which he expressed hopes of easing regional tensions.
“We’re going to work on straightening out the situation between North and South Korea,” Trump said.
President Lee praised Trump’s earlier invitation to Kim, saying it had generated a “significant sense of warmth and peace on the Korean peninsula,” even though Pyongyang has not publicly responded.
The speculation over a possible Trump–Kim meeting intensified after Trump hinted earlier this week that he would “love to meet” the North Korean leader while in Asia. However, hours before Trump landed in South Korea, North Korea test-fired several cruise missiles off its western coast in what analysts described as a show of defiance toward both Seoul and Washington.
The two leaders’ relationship has long been marked by both high-stakes diplomacy and fiery rhetoric. Trump and Kim met three times during Trump’s first term, including their historic 2019 meeting at Panmunjom, the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating North and South Korea.
That encounter made history as Trump became the first sitting U.S. president to step onto North Korean soil, after crossing the concrete boundary following a brief handshake with Kim.
Despite the fanfare of their summits, nuclear disarmament talks broke down in 2019 over disagreements regarding the extent of North Korea’s denuclearization and the lifting of U.S.-led sanctions.
Since then, Pyongyang has declared itself an “irreversible nuclear state” and has accelerated its missile development program, drawing international concern.
While Trump’s statement signals continued interest in dialogue, analysts caution that the path to renewed talks remains uncertain amid North Korea’s ongoing weapons tests and Washington’s growing security commitments in the Indo-Pacific region.
Still, Trump left the door open for diplomacy, telling reporters before departing Malaysia earlier in his trip, “I think the North Koreans would like to talk. We’ll see what happens — maybe sooner than people think.”
