South Korea’s prime minister discusses North Korea diplomacy with Trump during Washington visit
South Korea’s Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said he spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump for about 20 minutes on Korea-related issues during his Washington, D.C. visit. Kim told a gathering with Seoul’s correspondents at the Korean Cultural Center in Washington that a large portion of the conversation focused on North Korea.
Kim described an earlier, unscripted exchange at the White House with Paula White, a pastor who serves as director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. He said the Oval Office discussion with Trump occurred without an interpreter.
During the talks, Kim said he told Trump that South Korean President Lee Jae-myung frequently says Trump is the only leader capable of solving the Korean Peninsula issue. Kim said Trump showed immediate interest and asked for a photo of Kim Jong-un with Trump taken at Panmunjom.
Kim said Trump asked whether Kim Jong-un would be interested in engaging in dialogue, and he provided his views in response. He noted that Trump appeared to take the remarks “very seriously” and asked follow-up questions.
The prime minister stressed to Trump that he had described Trump as the only Western leader who has spoken to Kim Jong-un and that he believed Trump has a unique capacity to act as a peace broker on the peninsula. Kim said Trump reacted with a notably positive mood.
Kim did not disclose concrete proposals, but he indicated that his suggestions included keeping channels open and increasing dialogue to create even a small opening for North Korea–U.S. talks, with indications of a potential normalization of relations. He said Trump showed keen interest in these ideas but did not reveal specifics.
Kim also said he would draft an English memo summarizing his remarks and share it with the Trump team before leaving the United States. He suggested that Trump’s interest in North Korea diplomacy could serve as a catalyst for talks during the U.S. president’s planned visit to China later this month.
Separately, Kim met at the White House with Vice President JD Vance and Jameson Grayer of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). The discussions touched on the Section 301 tariff probe, the administration’s broad preliminary U.S. trade testing of 16 economies, including Korea.
Kim quoted the USTR as saying the Section 301 review is broadly aimed at multiple countries and does not single out South Korea. The South Korean side emphasized that Seoul wants to avoid placing Korea at a disadvantage, while the USTR representative suggested that, depending on circumstances, some countries could be treated more favorably. The two sides agreed to stay in close contact as the process continues.