Trump is so invested in his new relationship with Kim Jong Un, he says he gave the North Korean leader a 'direct' phone number
- President Donald Trump reportedly gave North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a "direct" phone number following their landmark meeting in Singapore.
- "He can now call me if he has any difficulty," Trump said.
- Prior to North Korea's recent overtures this year, maintaining contact with the regime was notoriously difficult.
President Donald Trump reportedly gave North Korean leader Kim Jong Un his "direct" phone number following their landmark meeting in Singapore on Tuesday. Trump claims that he plans to call Kim on Sunday.
"I can now call him," Trump said to reporters on Friday, according to South Korea's Yonhap News. "I gave him a very direct number."
"He can now call me if he has any difficulty," Trump said. "We have communication."
Trump's meeting with Kim marked the first time a sitting US president met with a current North Korean leader. The two signed a joint statement that broadly outlined several plans, such as working towards the "complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."
Prior to North Korea's diplomatic overtures this year, maintaining contact with the regime had been notoriously difficult. Pyongyang is notoriously unpredictable and outside efforts to engage with the regime have failed before.
But in January, North Korea reopened its hotline on the border with South Korea, signaling that it intended to reestablish relations after a year of provocative nuclear and missile tests. In his New Year's address to the country, Kim struck a conciliatory tone and offered to send a delegation to South Korea for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.
Since then, Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in have met twice, and communications between the two countries have resumed.