Anchor: U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed willingness to reach out to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. In a U.S. media interview, Trump called Kim a “smart guy” while differentiating North Korea from Iran.
Kim Bum-soo has more.  
 
Report: U.S. President Donald Trump says he will reach out to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
 
In an interview with Fox News Channel’s Hannity that aired Thursday, Trump indicated his intention to resume dialogue with Kim. 
 
[Sound bite: US President Donald Trump (Jan 23/The Sean Hannity Show, Fox News)] 
“[Obama] said North Korea is the biggest threat, and I solved that problem, and I got along with him. He is not a religious zealot. He happens to be a smart guy. Kim Jong-un is a smart guy.”
(Sean Hannity: Will you reach out to him again?)
“I will, yeah. He liked me, and I got along with him.”
 
While characterizing Iran as a different category of threat than North Korea, Trump also told Hannity that Kim is a “smart guy” and, unlike Iranian leaders, “not a religious zealot.”
 
Shortly after his inauguration earlier this week, Trump described North Korea as a “nuclear power,” sparking concerns in South Korea that the U.S. might no longer pursue its long-standing denuclearization agenda.
 
[Sound bite: US President Donald Trump (Jan. 20)]
“I was very friendly with him. He liked me. I liked him. We got along very well. They thought that was a tremendous threat. Now, he is a nuclear power. We got along. I think he will be happy to see me coming back.”
 
Trump’s recent remarks come amid growing concerns that the Trump administration might bypass Seoul in resuming dialogue with Pyongyang, as President Yoon Suk Yeol remains suspended since his impeachment last month.  
 
During his first term, Trump held three in-person talks with the North Korean leader, first in 2018 in Singapore and then the following year at the inter-Korean truce village Panmunjeom and in Vietnam. 
 
However, since the collapse of talks in Hanoi in February 2019, Pyongyang has said it is not interested in further nuclear negotiations with Washington.
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.