Trump announces he will meet with Kim Jong Un this year

Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he would meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un this year, while at the same time the joint military exercises launched on Monday by Seoul and Washington were cut short, at his request.

These maneuvers, which began on Monday, have had their duration reduced by six days, although the Pentagon assures that it is preserving American military "objectives".

"Yes, I will meet him," the US president replied when asked about a possible meeting with Kim Jong Un before the end of the year, while showing a few journalists around ongoing construction sites at the White House.

This meeting, which would be the fourth between the two men, could, according to several observers, take place in November on the sidelines of the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) summit in China.

Since his first term (2017-2021), Donald Trump has boasted of having a privileged relationship with Kim Jong Un, whose country is considered a major threat to the security of the United States by American intelligence.

This relationship came back into the spotlight when the US president decided on Sunday to cut short joint military exercises with South Korea.

He judged on Wednesday that these maneuvers were "very insulting to someone who, frankly, at least during my term, behaved very well."

- Pointless -

Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of the North Korean leader, claimed on Wednesday that she was "completely unaware" of any communication between her brother and Donald Trump.

While stressing that relations between them remained "excellent", she added that Donald Trump's decision regarding these exercises "does not warrant comment" and is "pointless", according to a statement.

Donald Trump also delivered an unusual and very precise official estimate of North Korea's nuclear arsenal on Wednesday, estimating that the country possessed "57 nuclear weapons".

"This should never have happened. (...) If I had been president, I would not have allowed it," the Republican leader added.

North Korea is not officially recognized as a nuclear power by the United States.

South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back told Parliament on Thursday that Seoul estimated the number of nuclear weapons possessed by the North "to be around 80 to 120".

The South Korean military stated that the exercises with US forces, initially scheduled to last until August 27, would end as early as Friday.

This change of stance represents a major setback for Seoul, a long-standing ally of the United States. A South Korean military official acknowledged to AFP that this decision was "unusual."

- Prerequisite -

In a statement, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff announced that they were "adjusting the duration of the UFS exercise" (Ulchi Freedom Shield) following a "suggestion from the American side".

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun told Parliament on Wednesday that Seoul had not been informed in advance of the decision to shorten the exercises.

The United States maintains a contingent of 28,500 troops in South Korea, one of its main deployments in Asia.

Part of them were to be mobilized alongside 18,000 South Korean soldiers for these exercises.

"The suspension of joint exercises has always been a prerequisite for North Korea to engage in dialogue with the United States," Park Won-gon, a professor at Ewha University, told AFP.

Therefore, this "reduction could have a positive impact" in this regard, he believes.

- China -

On Wednesday, the official North Korean news agency KCNA reiterated that the maneuvers "pose the most immediate and outright threat" to North Korea, a closed country that is technically still at war with the South.

The two sides of the peninsula did not sign a peace treaty at the end of their 1950-1953 conflict.

Pyongyang had conducted missile tests in the lead-up to these operations.

In this context, China, one of Pyongyang's main allies, confirmed on Wednesday that its Foreign Minister Wang Yi would travel to Seoul on Wednesday to meet with President Lee.

Beijing has in the past regularly shown its willingness to moderate its North Korean ally, but Pyongyang is increasingly playing on its strengthened ties with Moscow, according to observers.