'We will have relations with North Korea,' says Trump

WASHINGTON

President Donald Trump said on Friday that the US will have relations with North Korea.

"We will have relations with North Korea, with Kim Jong Un," Trump said at a news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the White House.

Trump said he gets along with the North Korean leader.

"I think it's a very big asset for everybody that I do get along with him. I mean, I get along with him, he gets along with me. And that's a good thing, not a bad thing," he said.

Ishiba, for his part, said they affirmed the need to address North Korea's nuclear and missile program, which poses a "serious threat" to Japan, the US and beyond.

"Japan and the US will work together toward the complete denuclearization of North Korea," he added.

Turning to the abductee issue, Ishiba said he conveyed determination to Trump and gained his "renewed strong support" for the immediate resolution of the abductions issue. Tokyo accuses Pyongyang of abducting its citizens during the 1970s and 1980s.

Trump became the first sitting US president to set foot on North Korean territory in 2019. As part of negotiations with Pyongyang over its illicit nuclear and ballistic missile programs, he met with Kim in the demilitarized zone separating North and South Korea.

Since then, North Korea has carried out a series of missile and nuclear tests, including what it claims was the successful launch of a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile in 2023.