Trump says he'd be 'honored' to meet with Kim Jong Un 'under the right circumstances'


President Trump said Monday that "if it would be appropriate for me to meet with him," he would "absolutely" set up a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
"I would be honored to do that," he told Bloomberg News. "If it's under the, again, the right circumstances." Tensions are high between North Korea and the U.S. and its allies, with North Korea continuing to test ballistic missiles as the country attempts to build up its nuclear weapons program. Trump said that "most political people" would never consider meeting with Kim, but did not reveal what conditions must be met in order for a Trump-Kim summit to happen.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer later told reporters that "clearly conditions are not there right now," and "we've got to see their provocative behavior ratcheted down." After Kim's father died in 2011, Kim took over leading North Korea, and he hasn't left the country or met with a foreign leader since. (Dennis Rodman doesn't count.)
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to Trump
Speed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raids
Speed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raid
Speed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'
Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearing
Speed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mount
Speed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own list
speed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battle
Speed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants