(FILES) North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un (L) and US President Donald Trump shake hands during a meeting on the south side of the Military Demarcation Line that divides North and South Korea, in the Joint Security Area (JSA) of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized zone (DMZ) on June 30, 2019. South Korea’s defence ministry said August 17, 2026 that its joint military exercise with the United States has started after President Donald Trump’s announcement it would be scaled back. Trump said he was “not happy” about US participation in the joint military exercises and is scaling back the drills aimed at deterring rival North Korea. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP)

US President Donald Trump hinted Monday at fresh interactions with Kim Jong Un and said he was making the situation safer through his ties to the North Korean leader.

Trump’s vague comments came a day after he ordered the scaling back of US military drills with ally South Korea and praised his relationship with Pyongyang’s Kim.

Asked why Kim hadn’t replied to his requests for a conversation, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office: “How do you know he hasn’t responded?”

When pressed about whether Kim had actually responded, Trump replied after a pause: “Yeah, he has.”

Trump then added “it’s very positive” after he was asked what stage the conversations with Kim were at — but provided no further detail.

In the past, the US president has given similarly vague accounts of unconfirmed conversations with other foreign leaders including Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping.

Trump doubled down on his praise for Kim — whom he met three times in his first term but has not encountered since returning to the White House last year — saying it reduced tensions with nuclear-armed North Korea.

“You see, I’m actually making it much safer. Kim Jong Un has always treated me with great respect,” Trump said.

“I understand him. He understands me.”

Trump also doubled down on his criticism of Seoul, particularly over its refusal to help with US military operations against Iran, in a fresh rebuke of long-standing alliances with global partners.

He had initially taken aim at South Korea in a post on Truth Social on Sunday night.

In the Oval Office on Monday, Trump said: “We can’t go around and protect all of these countries, especially when they’re not there to help us.”

AFP