Trump Eyes Kim Jong Un Meeting, Cites North Korea’s 57 Nuclear Weapons

U.S. President Donald Trump said he expects to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un later this year as he seeks to revive diplomatic talks with Pyongyang.

Asked Wednesday whether a meeting with Kim could take place before the end of the year, Trump replied, “Yeah, I will be.” The comments follow reports that Trump has urged aides to arrange an in-person summit as early as this autumn.

Trump also claimed North Korea possesses 57 “very powerful nuclear weapons,” an unusually specific estimate given that the U.S. government does not publicly provide an official figure for Pyongyang’s nuclear arsenal.

A 2025 Congressional Research Service report cited independent experts who estimated North Korea had produced enough fissile material for as many as 90 nuclear warheads but may have assembled around 50. In June, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimated the country had possibly assembled about 60 warheads, with sufficient material for at least 30 more.

Trump’s remarks came after he ordered Pentagon officials to cut short joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises, describing the drills as an “inappropriate and hostile” signal toward North Korea.

The president said Monday that he had received a response from Kim after attempting to reopen communications. However, Kim Yo Jong, the North Korean leader’s influential sister, said she was unaware of any recent exchanges between the two leaders.

She acknowledged that Trump and Kim had maintained a strong personal relationship but criticized Washington for continuing military exercises with South Korea, arguing that the drills threaten North Korea’s security.

Trump and Kim held historic summits in 2018 and 2019 during Trump’s first term, including an encounter at the Korean Demilitarized Zone where Trump became the first sitting U.S. president to enter North Korean territory. Their diplomatic push eventually stalled over disagreements surrounding North Korea’s nuclear weapons and U.S. demands for denuclearization.

Now in his second term, Trump is attempting to restart diplomacy, repeatedly emphasizing his personal relationship with Kim while describing North Korea as a “nuclear power.” His administration, however, continues to officially pursue the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.