Seoul Official Hints at Possible US–North Korea Meeting This Year

A senior official from South Korea’s foreign ministry has suggested that a meeting between the United States and North Korea at this year’s APEC summit in South Korea “cannot be ruled out.” The potential talks would mark the first direct engagement between Washington and Pyongyang since the collapse of the 2019 Hanoi summit.

Diplomatic ties between the two nations have been frozen since 2019, when a high-profile meeting between Kim Jong Un and then-US President Donald Trump in Vietnam broke down over the issues of sanctions relief and North Korea’s nuclear concessions.

• Post-2019: Pyongyang has repeatedly declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear state.
• Recent Signals: Kim Jong Un has hinted at openness to dialogue with Washington, provided the US drops its demand for complete denuclearisation.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum is scheduled to begin in late October in the South Korean city of Gyeongju, running until 1 November 2025.

When asked about the possibility of US–North Korea talks on the sidelines, the Seoul official responded: “We cannot rule out the possibility.”

 The official, speaking anonymously in New York, did not provide specifics on location or format.

Trump–Kim History

• Number of Meetings: Trump and Kim met three times during Trump’s first term.
• Notable Venue: Panmunjom, a village in the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea.
• Famous Remark: Trump once claimed the two had fallen “in love.”
• Breakdown: Their relationship soured after the Hanoi Summit (2019) failed to reach an agreement.

In August 2025, Trump expressed hope for another meeting with Kim, possibly within the year.

Kim Jong Un’s Current Position

• Statements: North Korean state media quoted Kim as saying he had “fond memories” of Trump and would be open to talks if Washington changed its nuclear stance.
• Military Posture: This week, Pyongyang reaffirmed its “invariable” commitment to nuclear development, with Kim stating that maintaining a robust nuclear force remains a top priority.

Analysts argue that Kim’s alignment with Xi and Putin significantly boosts his negotiating strength: “Kim is now positioning himself not as an isolated dictator, but as a key stakeholder backed by two nuclear-armed great powers. This dramatically increases his leverage in any future bilateral negotiations,”
said Seong-Hyon Lee, visiting scholar at the Harvard University Asia Center.

The potential APEC meeting could serve as a critical juncture in US–North Korea relations, testing whether renewed dialogue can overcome the failures of 2019 and reshape diplomatic dynamics in Northeast Asia.