Trump would ‘absolutely’ speak to Kim Jong Un on the phone

US president Donald Trump said yesterday that he would “absolutely” be open to a phone conversation with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, adding that he hoped that talks between the Pyongyang and South Korea could bring about positive developments.

“Absolutely, I would do that,” Trump said, when asked whether he’d be open to a one-to-one conversation. “I have no problem with that at all.”

North Korea agreed to hold official talks with its southern neighbour on Friday, after South Korea postponed a military drill it was due to hold with the US. The talks between North Korea and South Korea are expected to cover the Winter Olympics, to be held in South Korea next month, and inter-Korean relations.

The US and its allies have been locked in a standoff with North Korea over its nuclear arms programme, with Trump and his counterpart trading barbs and insults along the way.

Earlier this week Trump dismissed Kim’s taunt that the North Korean leader has a nuclear button on his desk, saying he has a bigger button.

Addressing journalists at Camp David, Trump described talks between the two Korean nations as a “big start”, insisting that Kim knew Trump was “not messing around”.

“If something can come out of those talks, that would be a great thing for all of humanity, that would be a great thing for the world,” he said.