President Trump Says He Still Has Good Relations With North Korean Leaders

Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump had a meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam. (Wikimedia Commons/The White House)

JAKARTA - United States President Donald Trump said on Thursday he still had good relations with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, with whom he held several summits during his first term of office, calling North Korea once again a "nuclear force."

When asked by reporters during a meeting in the Oval Room with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte whether he had plans to rebuild relations with Kim, President Trump said: "I will (build relations). I have a good relationship with Kim Jong Un, and we will see what happens, but what is certain is nuclear power," he said.

When sworn in for a second term on January 20, President Trump said North Korea was a "nuclear force," raising questions about whether he would negotiate weapons reductions rather than failed denuclearization attempts during his first term in re-engagement with Pyongyang.

After referring to Russia's and China's nuclear arsenal, President Trump said: "It would be a great achievement if we could lower the number. We have so many weapons, and the power is so great."

"And number one, you don't need it that far. And then we have to get the others, because, as you know, on a smaller scale, Kim Jong-un has a lot of nuclear weapons, by the way, a lot, and others also have them. You have India, you have Pakistan, you have other countries that have them and we involve them," he explained.

Asked if President Trump's statement represented a policy change against North Korea's nuclear weapons, a White House official said: "President Trump will seek full denuclearization of North Korea, as he did during his first term."

Separately, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his partners from Japan and South Korea reiterated their "firm commitment to North Korea's full denuclearization" in accordance with US Security Council Resolution on February 15.

Last week, North Korean leader Kim Yo-jong criticized the Trump administration for increasing "provocations" and said it confirmed North Korea was increasing its nuclear deterrence.

This week North Korea fired several ballistic missiles, the first since President Trump took office, responding to joint military exercises held by South Korea and the US.