Frustrated by lack of success in Iran? Trump pushes for meeting with Kim Jong Un

US President Donald Trump is pushing his aides to advance a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as early as this coming autumn, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing American officials. Trump has discussed the possibility of meeting with Kim during his next visit to Asia in November. Analysts assess that the chance of significant progress is low, as Pyongyang's nuclear arsenal has grown since the previous summits.

US President Donald Trump is pushing his aides to advance a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as early as this coming autumn, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing American officials. According to the officials, Trump has discussed behind closed doors the possibility of meeting with Kim during his next visit to Asia, which may take place in November, when leaders of member states of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum will convene in Shenzhen, China. Although preparations for the summit have not yet officially begun, Trump's desire to renew dialogue with Pyongyang may indicate that he is seeking a significant foreign policy achievement, at a time when efforts to reach a resolution in the war against Iran have not yet borne fruit. Trump sees another personal meeting with Kim as an opportunity to reopen talks on North Korea's nuclear program, but analysts and American officials assessed that the chance of significant progress is low. Since the three summits the two held during Trump's first term, Pyongyang's nuclear arsenal has grown and become more sophisticated, and is now estimated to include dozens of warheads and improved capability to strike US territory. The report comes after Trump this week ordered the reduction of the joint US-South Korea military exercise, partly due to what he called his "very good relations" with Kim. The following day, Trump also linked his decision to Seoul's refusal to help the US reopen the Strait of Hormuz.