Trump says N Korea’s Kim has responded to his request for a conversation

What the report says

US President Donald Trump said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has responded to his recent outreach, describing the exchange as “very positive” while offering no details, according to Al Jazeera on Monday from the White House. The report said Trump made the remarks in the Oval Office after being pressed on why Kim had not replied to his request for a conversation. North Korea did not immediately comment.

The article also noted that Trump had ordered the Pentagon to substantially reduce joint military exercises with South Korea, a move he linked to both the cost of the drills and his criticism of Seoul’s refusal to assist the United States in military action against Iran. South Korean officials said the exercises were proceeding as planned and insisted they were not meant to threaten North Korea or raise tensions on the peninsula.

Al Jazeera reported that the exchange comes as Trump continues to signal interest in reviving direct diplomacy with Kim, after their earlier summits ended in 2019 without a deal over North Korea’s nuclear program. Since then, Pyongyang has deepened ties with Russia and maintained close relations with China, while analysts say another Trump-Kim meeting remains possible, though North Korea may not respond quickly. The development matters because it could affect US policy toward both North Korea and the broader alliance system in Asia.