New Delhi: In his first meeting with new South Korean President Lee Jae Myung at the Oval Office, Donald Trump brought up someone he claimed he knew “better than anybody,” before adding “almost, other than his sister.” The US President was talking about North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the man Trump met three times during his first term in the White House.

Myung first looked on, smiled and then continued to patiently listen to Trump, who said: “I’d like to have a meeting. I look forward to meeting with Kim Jong-un in the appropriate future.”

The 79-year-old added that someday he’d see him, adding, “He was very good with me.” Trump told reporters, saying he hoped the talks would take place this year. He said he had a “very good” relationship with the North Korean leader and hoped it “stays that way”.

Asked if he would go back to the DMZ – demilitarised zone between North and South Korea – Trump once again broke into a soliloquy: “I’d love to … I spent a lot of time with him, talking about things that we aren’t probably supposed to talk about.”

I get along with him really well; he has a country of great potential, tremendous potential,” he said, hoping to meet him this year. Trump’s praise for Kim came despite the North Korean leader refusing to engage in any talks concerning his country’s nuclear programme. In fact, he has vowed to expedite the development of the nuclear arsenal while condemning the recent joint US-South Korea military drills.

The South Korean President said that his US counterpart was the “only person” who could end the nearly seven-decade-long standoff between South and North Korea.  “I look forward to your meeting with Chairman Kim Jong-un and the construction of Trump Tower in North Korea and playing golf,” Myung said.

His statement of hope came despite Trump’s failure so far in securing and restoring peace in Ukraine and Gaza.

Trump’s meeting with Lee came on the heels of the US President’s harsh criticism of the new South Korean leadership over how the government has handled investigations into the country’s former president, Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached and removed from office.

“What is going on in South Korea? Seems like a purge or revolution. We can’t have that and do business there,” the US president posted on his Truth Social platform. But after about half an hour into the meeting with Lee, Trump appeared to mellow down and said: “I’m sure it’s a misunderstanding” as “there is a rumour going around.”