Trump "Kim Jong-un's North Korea is a nuclear power..."Welcome me".

Trump mentions North Korea during question-and-answer in Oval Office
Emphasizing Friendship with Kim Jong-un, Mentioning 'Nuclear Power'
The U.S. president's remarks on 'North Korea's nuclear weapons state' are very unusual, and the same expression appears during the hearing of Defense Minister ∀

[Anchor]
U.S. President Trump has repeatedly emphasized his friendship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un since the first day of his return to the White House, referring to North Korea as a "nuclear state."

North Korea is scheduled to hold a Supreme People's Assembly tomorrow (22nd), which is equivalent to our National Assembly, so we are interested in whether Chairman Kim's direct response will come out immediately.

I'm reporter Lee Jong Won.

[Reporter]
U.S. President Trump's comments on North Korea came from the Oval Office after the inauguration ceremony.

[Donald Trump/U.S. President] I think the North Korean issue worked out well. I was friendly with Kim Jong Un and he liked me. I also liked Kim Jong-un and got along very well.

In addition to his own achievements in North Korea policy during his first term in office, he reiterated his friendship with Kim Jong-un, and further referred to North Korea as a nuclear power.

[Donald Trump/U.S. President] Now North Korea is a nuclear power. But we got along well, and I think Kim Jong Un will welcome me back.

In the United States, which defines North Korea's development of nuclear weapons as illegal and does not officially recognize its possession, it is very unusual for a sitting president to refer to North Korea as a nuclear power.

Ahead of Trump's inauguration, Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth also used the same expression, sparking controversy.

Concerns are growing that the so-called "Small Deal," a low-level U.S.-North Korea negotiation in which nuclear freezing or nuclear disarmament is on the table, rather than complete denuclearization, could become a reality.

[Cho Han-beom/senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification: (Trump's comments) are a little different from those of internationally recognized nuclear powers. However, as he made the remarks recognizing the fact that North Korea actually has nuclear weapons through Kim Jong Un....]

The government avoided direct mention of Trump's remarks, but reiterated that North Korea's complete denuclearization is a consensus view of the international community.

North Korea has convened the Supreme People's Assembly, which is equivalent to our National Assembly, tomorrow (22nd), and attention is being paid to whether Chairman Kim Jong-un will respond directly to Trump's remarks if he delivers a speech.

I'm YTN's Lee Jong Won.



Video editing: Seo Young-mi