Trump seeks fourth meeting with Kim Jong Un this fall

U.S. President Donald Trump is actively seeking a fourth summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un later this year, aiming to revive stalled nuclear diplomacy. The primary objective remains convincing Pyongyang to relinquish its nuclear arsenal, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Sources indicate that Trump has discussed the possibility of meeting Kim during his planned Asia trip, with a potential timeframe in November coinciding with the Apec summit in Shenzhen, China. However, no formal planning for such a meeting has commenced.

Victor Cha, a North Korea expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, confirmed Trump's desire for another encounter. Trump and Kim previously met three times during Trump's first presidential term, but these engagements did not lead to North Korea abandoning its nuclear weapons program. Since then, North Korea's nuclear capabilities have significantly expanded.

Independent experts estimate North Korea may possess around 60 nuclear warheads, a figure Jeffrey Lewis of Stanford University suggests could now be considerably higher. Lewis posits that North Korea's arsenal likely numbers in the low hundreds, based on the display of numerous launch sites and the increasing production of plutonium and highly enriched uranium annually. Trump recently referenced his "very good relationship with Kim Jong Un" when he ordered a reduction in a joint U.S.-South Korean military exercise.

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He has made it clear that he wants to meet Kim again.