Trump extends surprise invite to meet Kim at demilitarised zone today

US President Donald Trump extended a surprise invitation to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for an impromptu meeting at the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas on Saturday. Trump is scheduled to leave for South Korea after the G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan, ends on Saturday.

Like many of his policy initiatives, Trump made the announcement on Twitter. Trump wrote, “After some very important meetings, including my meeting with President Xi of China, I will be leaving Japan for South Korea (with President Moon). While there, if Chairman Kim of North Korea sees this, I would meet him at the Border/DMZ just to shake his hand and say Hello(?)!”

Speaking to reporters in Osaka, Trump said he “just thought of it this morning” when asked about the invite to Kim. However, there was speculation the US and North Korea were trying to ramp up diplomacy when US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo skipped the G20 dinner on Friday. Trump also told reporters the meeting would be brief, claiming, “If he is there, we will see each other for two minutes.”

Trump also added he and Kim “seem to get along”, declaring that this was a good thing.

If the meeting does materialise, it would be third meeting between Trump and Kim since 2018. The two leaders met for a summit in Singapore in June 2018. Trump became the first US president to meet a North Korean leader and the Singapore summit raised expectations of a thaw in tension on the Korean peninsula. A highly anticipated summit in Vietnam in February this year between Trump and Kim did not meet expectations as both sides disagreed on the issue of denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

Since last year, Trump and Kim have regularly exchanged letters, indicating that the two sides wanted to keep communicating.