President Donald Trump said Wednesday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un possesses 57 “very powerful” nuclear weapons but predicted the strongman is “gonna be fine” as long as the United States has a “smart president.”
Trump made the remarks while speaking with reporters outside the White House, where he was asked whether he has been exchanging written correspondence with Kim.
“Are you exchanging written letters with Kim Jong Un?” a reporter asked.
“I can’t tell you that,” Trump responded, declining to provide a direct answer.
Trump and Kim have a history of exchanging letters. During Trump’s first term, the two leaders exchanged roughly 27 letters, which Trump shared with Washington Post associate editor Bob Woodward in 2019.
“Don’t say I gave them to you,” Trump told Woodward at the time.
Trump then turned his attention to North Korea’s nuclear arsenal, arguing that his predecessors should never have allowed Kim to build up such a stockpile. Despite the nuclear weapons, Trump said his personal relationship with the North Korean leader is a positive development.
“But I get along with him. And you know what? The fact that I get along with him, that’s a good thing. Not a bad thing,” Trump said.
Trump claimed Kim now has 57 nuclear weapons, describing them as “very powerful.”
“He has 57 very powerful nuclear weapons. Should have never allowed it to happen. They should have never allowed it,” Trump said.
The president maintained that the situation would have been different had he been in office when North Korea was developing its nuclear arsenal.
“If I were president, I wouldn’t have allowed it. But he’s got ’em. I get along with him very well,” Trump said.
Trump also connected his comments about North Korea to Iran, saying he could not allow Tehran to obtain a nuclear weapon.
“I can’t let Iran have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.
The president went on to say that he knows Kim “very well” and predicted the North Korean leader would be “fine” depending on who occupies the White House.
“As long as we have a smart president, he’s going to be fine. If we have a dumb president, then he’s probably not gonna be so fine,” Trump said.
Asked whether he expects to meet with Kim later this year, Trump gave a clear answer.
“Yeah, I will be,” he said.
The comments came just days after Trump directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to scale back military exercises near North Korea.
Trump made that move after describing Kim’s regime as “unthreatening and respectful” during his presidency.
Wednesday’s exchange highlighted Trump’s continued emphasis on his personal relationship with Kim, even as the president acknowledged the North Korean leader possesses dozens of powerful nuclear weapons that Trump said should never have been allowed to develop in the first place.
