Trump pitches meeting with Kim Jong Un during Asia Tour: ‘Put out the word’

Departing for his first Asia trip of his second term, President Trump publicly called for a meeting with a regional leader not on his diplomatic itinerary: North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.

Trump, speaking to reporters on Air Force One en route to Malaysia, reiterated his openness to meeting Kim, asking the media to “put out the word.” Trump concludes his multi-stop trip to Asia in South Korea, where the president would be within roughly 250 miles from the Korean Demilitarized Zone—site of the two leaders’ last face-to-face encounter in 2019.

In his overture on Friday evening, Trump seemed to suggest he’d welcome extra help reaching out to the 41-year-old dictator.

“They have a lot of nuclear weapons,” Trump said, “but not a lot of telephone service.”

Recognizing North Korea as a nuclear state would be a dramatic shift in U.S. policy, which for decades has aimed to persuade Pyongyang to dismantle its arsenal with a mix of economic and diplomatic pressure. Ending that stance would usher in a new era in U.S. relations with North Korea, one where the two countries engage as fellow nuclear powers instead of fierce adversaries.

That animosity has led to years of nuclear threats and driven North Korea into closer ties with China and Russia, with Pyongyang even sending troops to assist Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Trump recalled the last time he met with Kim, he “put it out over the internet” that he was coming to South Korea and was open to a meeting. But when asked by a reporter about any plans to see Kim, Trump said the dictator hasn’t been in contact.

Two senior U.S. officials said the Trump administration hadn’t sent Kim an invitation for a meeting. Trump’s remark to the press has been the only request, they said.

Kim, who has been photographed with a smartphone, is no stranger to Trump. The two met three times during Trump’s first term in 2018 and 2019. That included their rendezvous at the DMZ when Trump, while attending the Group of 20 summit in nearby Japan, floated an abrupt get-together on social media, an offer that surprised Trump’s own advisers. The meeting came together within a day.

The question now is whether Kim will accept the invitation—and on what terms. He has fewer reasons to bend to Trump than in the past.

The Trump administration has said it remains committed to the “complete” denuclearization of North Korea. But it hasn’t presented a clear strategy of how to engage with the North, with turmoil in Europe and the Middle East grabbing much of the U.S.’s focus.

Last month, Kim issued his first direct response to Trump’s overtures, expressing a willingness to discuss “peaceful coexistence” with the U.S., though he made it clear he wouldn’t consider renouncing the country’s ever-expanding nuclear weapons program. Kim made the remarks in a lengthy policy speech to his rubber-stamp parliament on Sept. 21.

“I say ‘denuclearization’ is the last, last thing to expect from us,” Kim said. North Korean state media didn’t have immediate comment on Trump’s invitation.

Asked about Pyongyang’s desire to be recognized as a nuclear state, Trump acknowledged North Korea is “sort of a nuclear power.”

“I know how many weapons they have. I know everything about them,” he said. “They have a lot of nuclear weapons.”

Accepting North Korea as a nuclear state would create a dangerous precedent for the world, nonproliferation experts say. Other rogue nations with nuclear ambitions could feel emboldened to launch programs of their own. Accepting a nuclear-armed Pyongyang would prompt further calls from South Korea, Japan and other Washington allies to possess nuclear weapons for self-defense.

Trump ordered the bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities earlier this year to prevent the country from acquiring its first nuclear weapon.

But some analysts have long argued that the U.S. could never persuade North Korea to part with its nuclear arsenal and missile program, as Pyongyang has spent decades developing both. No country would invest such time and resources just to give them up under sanctions and political pressure.

Recognizing that North Korea is, and likely will remain, a nuclear power is simply the reality of Pyongyang’s achievement, some current and former U.S. officials say.

Trump is set to arrive in Malaysia on Sunday local time, before traveling next to Japan. He finishes the trip in South Korea, where he is expected to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday. The leaders of the world’s two superpowers haven’t met in person since Trump took office in January.

A Trump-Kim meeting would be a high-profile addition. It would represent the first formal engagement between the U.S. and North Korea in more than six years.

During that time, Kim has dramatically expanded his nuclear arsenal, upgraded his weapons capabilities and drawn closer to Russia. North Korean hackers have stolen billions of dollars from cryptocurrency exchanges, providing much-needed funds for a regime facing sanctions punishing Pyongyang for its nuclear program. With Moscow’s support, the main United Nations panel overseeing enforcement of those sanctions was disbanded last year.

The result is a Kim operating much differently from Trump’s first term, when direct talks with the U.S. leader took priority to win sanctions relief for his cash-strapped nation. The North Korean leader has told his people to defy the economic struggles from sanctions. And Kim’s confidence in his country’s nuclear program is so strong that he has signaled a major policy shift next year, where advances in conventional weaponry will take equal footing with the nukes.

“Back then, Kim needed concessions from Trump,” said Hwang Ji-hwan, a professor of international relations at the University of Seoul. “Now, there’s no motivation to seek concessions or negotiate with the U.S.”

If Kim is able to meet Trump without discussing denuclearization, the North Korean leader could spin the get-together as another sign of his legitimacy on the global stage. Just last month, Kim traveled to Beijing for a Chinese military parade where he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump has repeatedly touted his close relationship with Kim, suggesting on the campaign trail last year that the North Korean leader missed him. During a White House visit by South Korea’s president in August, Trump said he would like to meet Kim this year if possible.

Any immediate meeting between Trump and Kim would likely be for “political messaging” rather than achieving substantial progress with North Korean denuclearization, said Jo Bee-yun, a security analyst at South Korea’s Sejong Institute think tank.

“A Trump-Kim meeting may present North Korea’s nuclear status as a fait accompli,” she said.

Write to Timothy W. Martin at Timothy.Martin@wsj.com, Meridith McGraw at Meridith.McGraw@WSJ.com and Alexander Ward at alex.ward@wsj.com