The Impressive TimesWashington, September 30: US President Donald Trump has pointed to his personal relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un while responding to questions about why North Korea possesses nuclear weapons while the United States opposes Iran acquiring them.
Speaking on Tuesday, Trump described Kim as a friend and said the North Korean leader respects him. He also acknowledged that North Korea has a “pretty large” nuclear capability and blamed previous US administrations for not preventing Pyongyang from developing its nuclear arsenal.
Trump and Kim’s relationship has evolved significantly since Trump’s first presidency. The two leaders initially exchanged threats as North Korea continued its nuclear and missile testing programme.
Their engagement shifted in 2018, when Trump and Kim met in Singapore in the first summit between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader. The two sides agreed to work towards improved bilateral relations and the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.
A second summit took place in Hanoi in February 2019, but ended without an agreement. A key disagreement involved the extent of North Korea’s nuclear dismantlement and the sanctions relief Pyongyang would receive in return.
In June 2019, Trump met Kim at the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) and briefly crossed into North Korea, becoming the first sitting US president to do so.
The two leaders have not met in person since that encounter.
Trump has continued to speak positively about his relationship with Kim during his second presidency. In August, he shared an older photograph of himself with the North Korean leader on Truth Social and said the two had generally gotten along despite their initial tensions.
Trump has also linked his views on US-South Korea military exercises to his relationship with Kim, describing the exercises as costly and saying they sent an inappropriate and hostile signal to North Korea.
Reuters previously reported that Trump had encouraged his aides to explore the possibility of another meeting with Kim, potentially during an Asia trip around the APEC summit in China in November.
North Korea conducted its first nuclear test in 2006 and carried out six nuclear tests through 2017. It is widely regarded as a nuclear-armed state.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s (SIPRI) 2026 assessment, North Korea had approximately 60 assembled nuclear warheads at the beginning of 2026, along with enough fissile material to potentially produce at least 30 additional warheads.
SIPRI has also assessed that Pyongyang continues to expand its nuclear capabilities and develop new missile systems.
Trump’s latest remarks come as Washington continues to focus on preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons, while North Korea already maintains an established nuclear arsenal. His comments again drew attention to the contrasting approaches toward the two countries and to his longstanding diplomatic engagement with Kim Jong Un.
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