Trump says he will meet with Kim Jong Un this year

Trump administrationTrump says he will meet with Kim Jong Un this yearThe president also declined to tell reporters whether he was exchanging letters with the North Korean dictator. President Donald Trump said he will be meeting with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un this year. Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty ImagesShareAdd to GoogleAug. 19, 2026, 12:54 PM EDTBy Monica Alba and Megan BrandPresident Donald Trump confirmed to reporters that he plans to meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un this year, a highly unusual move for an American president. Asked whether he was expecting to meet with Kim this year, Trump responded, “Yeah, I will be.”The Wall Street Journal first reported that the president was pushing for a meeting with the North Korean leader, whom Trump previously met with three times, in 2018 and 2019. The U.S. does not have formal diplomatic relations with North Korea.Just days ago, Trump ordered the U.S. military to downsize joint exercises with South Korea, citing in part his “very good relationship” with Kim. “These exercises are not only costly, with much of these costs paid for by the United States of America (as usual!), but send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile, to a Country that, as long as Donald J. Trump has been President, has been unthreatening and respectful,” Trump said in the post.The president also suggested South Korea’s refusal to assist the United States in its war with Iran factored into his decision to reduce joint military drills.Trump, who has previously exchanged letters with Kim, declined to tell reporters whether the two leaders were writing letters to each other again. Asked whether he was exchanging letters, Trump said, “I can’t tell you that,” adding that he got along with the leader.“And you know what?” Trump continued. “The fact that I get along with him, that’s a good thing, not a bad thing. He has 57 very powerful nuclear weapons.”It’s unclear how Trump arrived at the specific number of weapons. NBC Ne...