President Trump hosted South Korean President Moon Jae-in at a White House dinner Thursday, telling him they would have “tremendous discussions” about dealing with the dangerous regime in North Korea.
The president’s dinner with Mr. Moon and South Korea’s first lady Kim Jung-sook smoothed the opening of potentially awkward talks. Mr. Trump has taken a hard line on North Korea and the dovish Mr. Moon, who also was recently elected, wants a softer approach.
“I know you’ve been discussing with our people some of the complexities of North Korea and trade and other things, and we’ll be discussing them all as we progress — and it could be very well late into the evening,” said Mr. Trump.
He added, “We very much respect you and we very much respect the people of South Korea.”
Mr. Trump told Mr. Moon that he foresaw his upset victory, which was as surprising as Mr. Trump’s own win in November.
“I’d like to also congratulate you upon your election victory. It was a great victory, and you did a fantastic job,” Mr. Trump said. “A lot of people didn’t expect that, and I did expect it. I thought that was going to happen. So I want to congratulate you very much.”
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.