US President Donald Trump on Monday, 13 October 2026 left open the possibility of meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during his upcoming Asia trip next month, when he is scheduled to attend two major multilateral summits — the ASEAN summit in Manila on 16 November and the APEC summit in Shenzhen, China, from 17 to 19 November. The remarks, made to reporters at the White House before boarding Marine One, were brief but significant: when asked whether he planned to meet Kim during the trip, Trump replied, 'I may, yeah.'

He did not specify where or when such a meeting could take place, and neither Washington nor Pyongyang has announced any formal engagement as of 13 October.

Background: A Long-Gestating Push

Trump's interest in reviving direct talks with Kim Jong-un is well-documented. As far back as August 2026, he told reporters he expected to meet the North Korean leader before year's end — 'Yeah, I will be,' he said at the time. Reports citing US officials emerged in August that Trump had pressed aides to arrange a meeting as early as autumn, with the APEC summit in Shenzhen floated as a possible venue.

In China, Trump is separately expected to hold his third meeting this year with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of APEC — underscoring the diplomatic density of the Asia leg.

Three Prior Summits, Stalled Progress

Trump met Kim three times during his first presidential term. Their June 2018 summit in Singapore made history — Trump became the first sitting US President to meet a North Korean leader — and produced a joint commitment to work towards the complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula. A second summit in Hanoi in February 2019 ended without an agreement after talks collapsed over sanctions relief and the scope of Pyongyang's disarmament steps. In June 2019, Trump briefly crossed into North Korea at the Demilitarized Zone in Panmunjom, becoming the first sitting US President to set foot on North Korean soil.

Talks stalled after that milestone. North Korea has since continued to expand its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, complicating any diplomatic reset.

What This Trip Could Mean

A potential Trump-Kim encounter — if it materialises — would be the first direct engagement between the two leaders since 2019 and the first of Trump's second term. The choice of venue matters: a meeting at APEC in Shenzhen would occur on Chinese soil, potentially drawing Beijing into a mediating or facilitating role at a moment when US-China relations are themselves under active management.

Analysts note that North Korea's nuclear arsenal has grown substantially since the Singapore declaration, raising the stakes — and the complexity — of any renewed diplomacy. Critics argue that a meeting without a prior framework risks lending Pyongyang international legitimacy without extracting concrete concessions.

What to Watch

Confirmation of any Trump-Kim meeting would require announcements from both the White House and Pyongyang, neither of which has spoken officially. Trump's Asia itinerary — Manila on 16 November, Shenzhen from 17 to 19 November — provides two logistical windows. With fewer than five weeks to go, diplomatic observers will be watching closely for any back-channel signal from North Korea's state media or the White House schedule.