Will Trump Propose a 'Spontaneous Meeting' with Kim Jong Un? Senior Government Official Says It Cannot Be Ruled Out

\r\n\r\n[Financial News] Attention is turning to whether U.S. President Donald Trump, who is visiting China, will hold a "spontaneous meeting" with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Trump, who is visiting China for the first time in nine years, is scheduled to stay in Beijing from the 13th to the 15th. For a surprise meeting with Kim to take place, a proposal would have to be made before Trump departs on the 15th.
A senior government official told reporters on the 14th that the possibility of a surprise summit between the two leaders remains open. The official said, "There are unpredictable variables. At this point, a U.S.-North Korea summit cannot be ruled out." He added, "I do not think much preparation has been done. We will have to wait and see."
The official also said that both sides have so far briefed South Korea on the U.S.-China summit and that a U.S.-China meeting hosted by South Korea was held the previous day, adding that all possibilities are being kept open. President Lee Jae-myung met separately on the 13th with He Lifeng, Vice Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who visited South Korea to coordinate ahead of the U.S.-China summit. It is not known whether Lee asked the U.S. and Chinese officials to arrange a meeting between Trump and Kim.
Trump first proposed a meeting with Kim through his Twitter account, now X, just before leaving after the G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan, in June 2019, when they held their first Panmunjom meeting. It was a last-minute proposal that even his staff knew nothing about in advance. The meeting then led, just 32 hours later, to the first-ever Panmunjom summit among the leaders of South Korea, the U.S., and North Korea.
On the morning and afternoon of the final day of his China trip on the 15th, Trump will hold a small tea meeting and lunch with Xi to further coordinate outstanding issues.
Whether Xi will help arrange a meeting with Kim is also drawing attention. Trump has long shown strong interest in jointly resolving North Korea's nuclear issue, along with Iran's nuclear program.
Still, a surprise meeting remains unlikely because the two countries hold sharply different views on North Korea's nuclear weapons.
Even so, with midterm elections approaching, Trump could seek to draw global attention by holding a very brief meeting with Kim at Pyongyang airport before returning home.
If such a dramatic encounter takes place, Trump would become the first sitting U.S. president to set foot in Pyongyang.
Trump met Xi at Gimhae International Airport last October during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
Meanwhile, Vietnam, which mediated the Hanoi summit between Trump and Kim, is drawing attention after sending a special envoy to Pyongyang. Le Hoai Trung, Vietnam's foreign minister and special envoy of To Lam, General Secretary and State President of Vietnam, met with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui the previous day. The visit by the Vietnamese delegation comes after President Lee Jae-myung's state visit to Vietnam last month, raising questions over whether Hanoi will step in as a diplomatic mediator. rainman@fnnews.com Kim Kyung-soo, reporter
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rainman@fnnews.com Kim Kyung-soo Reporter