WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said he is considering three or four dates as well as five locations for his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, adding that it remains unclear whether the meeting will occur.
Trump, speaking in an interview on Fox News Channel, said that Secretary of State-designate Mike Pompeo’s meeting with Kim in North Korea a few weeks ago was unplanned.
“He wasn’t supposed to meet with Kim Jong Un but he did. They arranged while he was there to say hello,” Trump said, adding that he wanted to release the “incredible” pictures of their encounter.
Pompeo, who currently is CIA director, and Kim spoke for more than an hour in what Trump said was “more than a hello.”
North Korea has developed nuclear missiles capable of reaching the United States, heightening international tensions, and Trump hopes to persuade Kim to give them up. A Trump-Kim meeting would be the first between a U.S. president and a North Korean leader.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in was scheduled to meet with Kim on Friday. A White House official has said Trump may meet with Moon before the U.S-North Korea meeting.
Trump has said he expects to meet with Kim in May or June.
“It could be that I walk out quickly – with respect – but … it could be that maybe the meeting doesn’t even take place,” he told Fox News by telephone. “Who knows. But I can tell you right now they want to meet.”
(Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Bill Trott)
