SOUTH KOREA’S LEE SUGGESTS TRUMP-KIM SUMMIT LATER THIS YEAR. (PHOTO).

 South Korea’s Lee suggests Trump-Kim summit later this year, office says

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has suggested the possibility of a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un later this year, contingent on Trump attending a regional forum in South Korea, according to Lee’s office.

Lee and Trump reportedly had a “pleasant” meeting during which they exchanged compliments and discussed past assassination threats, said Lee’s spokesperson Kang Yu-jung. The leaders did not address Washington’s requests concerning South Korea’s agricultural trade, Kang added.

EARLIER REPORT:

Trump repeatedly praises North Korea’s leader in meeting with South Korea’s president

President Trump, alongside South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, on Monday, lavished praise on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, highlighting their personal rapport and the “great potential” of North Korea amid a tense period in U.S.-South Korea relations. Trump, eager to involve himself in the longstanding Korean conflict, repeatedly mentioned his positive interactions with Kim and suggested he could arrange a meeting between Kim and Lee.

The remarks stood out as Lee, newly in office, remained silent while Trump emphasized his friendship with North Korea’s dictator. Only weeks prior, North Korea rejected South Korea’s attempts to ease tensions, with Kim’s sister, Kim Yo-jong, stating that Seoul’s proposals held no interest. During the hour-long Oval Office meeting, Trump discussed the U.S.-South Korea alliance, including potential South Korean shipbuilding investment in the U.S., but repeatedly returned to his personal history with Kim, recalling his 2019 visit to North Korea, where he became the first sitting U.S. president to step across the Demilitarized Zone. “I’d like to have a meeting,” Trump said of meeting Kim again in the future.