President Donald Trump said in an interview with Bloomberg published Monday that he would be "honored" to meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
Such a meeting would mark a departure from longstanding American policy toward the brutal communist regime. The United States does not have formal diplomatic relations with North Korea.
“If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely. I would be honored to do it,” Trump told Bloomberg in an interview conducted in the Oval Office. “If it’s under the, again, under the right circumstances. But I would do that.”
“Most political people would never say that,” Trump said, “but I’m telling you under the right circumstances, I would meet with him.”
“We have breaking news,” the president quipped.
Trump’s remarks follow a series of recent threats from the Hermit Kingdom against the United States and its interests. On Saturday, South Korean and U.S. officials said North Korea test-launched a short-range ballistic missile.
The United States has long objected to the Kim regime’s human rights abuses and quest for nuclear weapons.
According to Bloomberg, since coming to power after the death of his father, Kim has not met with a foreign leader or left North Korea.
During an interview that aired Sunday on CBS News’ “Face The Nation,” Trump praised Kim’s intelligence, calling him “a pretty smart cookie.”
