Kim Jong Un’s Awkward Silence When Trump Pushed for a South Korea Meetup

Donald Trump’s big Asia trip is underway, and the president hasn’t hidden his itch to sit down again with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. You know, the guy he once swapped “love letters” with. But Kim? He’s playing it cool—real cool.

Remember 2018? The world was bracing for fireworks between the U.S. and North Korea. Then, out of nowhere, Trump told a crowd in Virginia: “I like him. He likes me… and then we fell in love. Okay? No, really. He wrote me beautiful letters.”

Fast-forward to 2019. Cameras went nuts as Trump stepped over the line into North Korea, giving Kim a friendly arm pat while the dictator led the way. Historic stuff.

Trump clearly hasn’t forgotten the vibe. Before heading out on this trip—Malaysia, South Korea, Japan—he floated the idea of another meetup.

“I’ll Be in South Korea”

On Air Force One, flying to Malaysia, he told reporters: “I had a good relationship with him. I’d love to see him, if he wants to. If he even gets this message. We haven’t said anything official, but he knows I’m coming. If he’d like to meet, I’d love to.”

With a smirk, he added: “If you guys want to put the word out, I’m open to it. I’ll be in South Korea.”

Crickets from Pyongyang. No plans, no reply—nothing. U.S. and South Korean officials confirmed Tuesday: radio silence.

Still, Trump stayed upbeat. He figured lifting some of those missile-related sanctions could lure Kim back to the table. “That’s pretty big to start with,” he said. “About as big as it gets.”

Kim’s Side-Eye

Kim hasn’t answered Trump directly, but he did drop a hint through state media. Basically: I still kinda like the guy, but drop the denuclearization obsession, accept us as we are, and sure—let’s talk peace.

He also shut the door on South Korea, calling off any inter-Korean chats for now.

That didn’t stop South Korea’s new president, Lee Jae Myung—who took over in June after Yoon Suk Yeol got the boot—from hoping Trump could work his magic. Lee thinks the Trump-Kim chemistry might actually calm things down and keep missiles from flying.

Seoul’s reunification minister even said there’s a “considerable” shot at a Trump-Kim reunion.

Cruise Missiles and a No-Show

Then Wednesday hit. Just hours before Trump landed in South Korea, North Korea announced it had test-fired cruise missiles off its west coast. Message received: We’re still here, and we’re not scared.

Trump confirmed the letdown: no meeting. “I know Kim very well… we just couldn’t work out the timing,” he said.

He still met with President Lee and talked about “straightening out” North-South relations. Lee thanked Trump for the outreach, saying it brought a “real sense of warmth and peace” to the peninsula.

Earlier that day, on the plane from Japan, Trump stayed hopeful: “At some point, we’ll be involved with North Korea. I think they’d like to, and I’d like to.”

Guess we’ll see if the love letters ever make a comeback.