During his first term in office, Trump met with Kim three times between 2018 and 2019.
US President Donald Trump said he plans to reach out to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un after returning to the White House.
Trump was asked about Kim’s plans and whether he would “reach out” in an interview Thursday.
“Yeah, I would. He liked me,” Trump said.
Trump and Kim had an unusually strong relationship during the first terms of two presidents in office since the Korean War nearly 70 years ago. Trump has previously described their relationship as “very, very good” and called Kim the “smart guy” of the media.
During his first term in office, Trump met with Kim on three separate occasions between 2018 and 2019.
In 2019, he made history as the first sitting U.S. president to visit North Korea since the 1953 Armistice effectively brought an end to the Korean War.
Following his reelection in November, Trump’s team said it was resuming “direct talks” with Kim.
But Trump’s close relationship with Kim, whom he has named in the past as South Korea, a U.S. treaty ally and potentially even a member of his own Cabinet, is likely heading into his second term in office. It even conflicted with potential cabinet members.
Sen. Marco Rubio, Trump’s pick for secretary of state, described Kim as a “dictator” during his Senate confirmation hearing and called for him to “take a very serious look at broader North Korea policy.”