Trump says he will meet with Kim Jong-un 'at some point'

WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump said Monday that he would sit down with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un "at some point" again following their historic meetings during his first term.

Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he looks forward to another potential meeting with the North Korean leader, just minutes before he was set to host South Korea's new President Lee Jae Myung at the White House.

"I have very good relationships with Kim Jong Un, North Korea," he said. "In fact, someday I'll see him. I look forward to seeing him. He was very good with me. We had two meetings, we had two summits. We got along great. I know him better than you do. I know him better than anybody, almost other than his sister," said Trump.

Trump and Kim met three times during his first term, including a 2019 sit-down that took place in the heavily militarized border area separating the Koreas known as the DMZ. During the visit, Trump briefly entered North Korea, marking the first time a US president set foot on North Korean soil.

Trump's stated desire to meet with Kim again came hours after he issued a social media post questioning South Korea's internal stability ahead of his White House meeting with Lee.

"WHAT IS GOING ON IN SOUTH KOREA? Seems like a Purge or Revolution," Trump wrote on the US social media company Truth Social, which he owns. "We can't have that and do business there."

South Korea's presidential office said it was checking the situation following Trump's remarks, according to Yonhap News Agency.

Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he "heard" there were what he called "very vicious raids on churches by the new government in South Korea, that they even went into our military base and got information."

"They probably shouldn't have done that, but I heard bad things. I don't know if it's true or not. I'll be finding out," he said.

Trump said he looks forward to meeting with Lee, but said, "We won't stand for that. We just won't stand for that."

He further told reporters, as he hosted Lee, that he anticipated the forthcoming closed-door talks to address trade, a contract for South Korea to build American ships, and the possibility of doing away with a lease of land being used for a sprawling joint US-Korean military base.

"You know, we spent a lot of money building a fort, and there was a contribution made by South Korea. But I would like to see if we could get rid of the lease and get ownership of the land where we have a massive military base," said Trump.

He did not name the base, but he was likely referring to Osan Air Base on South Korea's west coast, where thousands of American forces are stationed.

Lee, for his part, asked for Trump's assistance in bringing peace to the Koreas.

"I would like to ask for your role in establishing peace on the Korean peninsula," he said. "So I look forward to your meeting with Chairman Kim Jong Un" he said.