Trump Says He May Meet Kim Jong Un During Asia Trip

President Donald Trump told reporters he may meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during his upcoming Asia trip. Speaking as he left the White House for Ohio, he said a meeting would be exciting and that he gets along with Kim. He is set to attend the ASEAN summit in Manila on Nov. 16 and APEC events in Shenzhen, China, Nov. 17-19, with the leaders' meeting Nov. 18-19. The two met three times in Trump's first term—Singapore in June 2018, Hanoi in February 2019 and Panmunjom in June 2019. In August Trump posted a photo of himself with Kim at Panmunjom and voiced hope for a meeting later this year; he has also mentioned wanting one in 2026. He met Dennis Rodman earlier in October and, at an Ohio rally on Saturday, stressed good relations with leaders of nuclear-armed countries. Outlets recorded slightly different phrasings of the reply. Anadolu Agency quoted: "I may, yeah. That'll be exciting, won't it? But I get along with him." Aju Press had "I may. I may. That will be exciting, won't it?" plus "I get along with him." Bloomberg rendered "I may" and "That would be exciting." Sources also differ on whether the remarks came on Oct. 12 or 13. On Oct. 12 North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles off its east coast, the fourth launch in about a month, per South Korea's Joint Chiefs; state media said a tactical ballistic missile test verified an upgrade to a key component. No meeting has been confirmed or scheduled. Bloomberg separately reported U.S.-South Korea tensions over the $54 billion Alaska LNG project and scaled-back exercises.