Trump pitches meeting with Kim Jong Un during Asia tour

Departing for his first Asia trip of his second term, President Trump publicly called for a meeting with a regional leader not on his diplomatic itinerary: North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.

Trump left the the White House on Friday night to embark on a long flight to Asia, where he’s expected to work on investment deals and peace efforts before meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in hopes of deescalating a trade war.

The President, speaking to reporters on Air Force One en route to Malaysia reiterated his openness to meeting Kim, asking the media to “put out the word.” Trump concludes his multi-stop trip in South Korea.

If he’d like to meet, I’m open to it. Certainly,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “If you want to put out the word, I’m open to it,” he added. “You know, they don’t have a lot of telephone service.”

“They have a lot a nuclear weapons, but not a lot of telephone service. So, I’m open to it. I had a great relationship with him and he probably knows I’m coming, right? … I’d be open to it 100 percent I got along very well with him.”

Mr Trump is set to arrive in Malaysia on Sunday morning for a meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, followed by a joint signing ceremony with the prime ministers of Thailand and Cambodia.

He will then head to Japan and South Korea, where he’s expected to make progress on talks for at least $900 billion in investments for US factories and other projects that those countries committed to in return for easing his planned tariff rates down to 15% from 25%.