Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump
Kim Jong Un and Donald TrumpReuters

US President-elect Donald Trump’s team is reportedly exploring the possibility of direct talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, aiming to reduce the risk of armed conflict through a renewed diplomatic effort, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing two individuals familiar with the discussions.

Some members of Trump’s team believe that a personal approach by Trump—building on the relationship established during his first term—offers the best chance to re-engage with Kim.

Trump’s transition team did not respond to requests for comment.

The potential reaction from Kim remains uncertain. North Korea has ignored four years of outreach under President Joe Biden, who offered talks without preconditions. Kim, meanwhile, appears emboldened by his country’s expanded missile arsenal and closer ties with Russia.

During Trump’s presidency from 2017 to 2021, he met Kim three times—in Singapore, Hanoi, and at the Korean border. Despite the historic meetings, their diplomacy yielded no tangible results.

While these summits captured global attention, they ultimately failed to deliver tangible outcomes due to disagreements over North Korea’s denuclearization and US sanctions relief.

It remains unclear what a fresh diplomatic initiative might accomplish. Trump’s initial goal would likely be to restore basic engagement, though specific policy objectives and timelines have not been established, the sources told Reuters.

However, addressing North Korea could take a backseat to other pressing foreign policy concerns, including conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, according to one person briefed on the transition team’s priorities.

North Korea has upped its rhetoric in recent months and has also staged dozens of launches of missiles this year.

Earlier this week, Kim accused the United States of escalating tensions and provocations, and claimed the Korean peninsula is facing an unprecedented risk of nuclear war.

“We have already gone as far as we can on negotiating with the United States, but what we became certain of from the result is not the superpower's willingness to coexist, but its thorough stance of power and aggressive and hostile policy toward us that can never change,” he stated.

Those remarks came days after Kim called on the country’s military to enhance its warfighting capabilities.

Two weeks ago, North Korea launched a ballistic missile toward the East Sea, just days after it announced it tested an intercontinental ballistic missile, prompting condemnation from the South, the United States and Japan.

In mid-September, North Korea fired a salvo of short-range ballistic missiles.