As North Korea signals diplomatic return, will Trump, Kim revive ‘bromance’?

The prospect of a fourth summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is gaining traction ahead of the Apec summit in late October, observers say, amid signs that both sides may be testing the waters for a return to high-level nuclear diplomacy.

Speculation intensified after North Korea’s vice-foreign minister, Kim Son‑gyong, travelled to New York last week – the first visit by a senior North Korean diplomat since 2019 – to lead Pyongyang’s delegation at the UN General Assembly.

His trip followed Kim Jong‑un’s remarks that there was “no reason not to engage” with the United States if it dropped its “hollow” fixation on denuclearisation, and his assertion of having a “good memory” of Trump, who has repeatedly voiced hopes of reviving their “bromance”.

Trump has described the North as a “nuclear power” with “a lot of nuclear weapons”, even as Washington and Seoul maintain their goal of the complete denuclearisation of North Korea.