U.S. President Donald Trump has indicated his willingness to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un again, raising the prospect of renewed engagement on the Korean Peninsula.

Trump made the remarks during a meeting with South Korea’s newly elected president, Lee Jae Myung, emphasizing the strength of his past ties with Kim. He recalled their three meetings during his first term, describing their relationship as unusually close.

President Lee, for his part, expressed optimism that Trump could play a decisive role in breaking the decades-long deadlock, calling him “the only person” capable of resolving the conflict.

Despite historic summits, negotiations over denuclearization collapsed, and since then Pyongyang has expanded military cooperation with Moscow. North Korea has provided troops to support Russia’s war in Ukraine, while receiving backing from the Kremlin in return.

The North has also rejected calls for renewed talks, accelerating its weapons program instead. Over the weekend, Kim personally supervised the test-firing of new air defense systems and denounced U.S.–South Korea joint military drills as preparations for an invasion.

The Korean Peninsula remains technically at war, with the 1950–53 Korean War ending in a truce rather than a peace treaty.