Trump was asked why it’s okay for Kim Jong Un’s North Korea to have nukes. He had a simple answer: ‘Because he respects me and he likes me’

President Donald Trump was asked why Iran could not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons when North Korea already had them and was still growing its arsenal. He tied his answer to Kim Jong Un. Trump said, “Because he respects me and he likes me.”

He also said, “Because you had a different president.” Trump added, “They could have stopped him. He happens to be a friend of mine. Kim Jong Un, he is a friend of mine. He likes Trump.” He claimed he was about the only person in the entire world Kim likes.

According to The Independent, Trump said Pyongyang had a “pretty large” nuclear capacity. In his first term, he was the first sitting U.S. president to meet Kim, in 2018. They met two more times before the talks broke down in 2019. Trump has since said he received “love letters” from the North Korean leader.

Zelensky said North Korea had already sent thousands of troops to fight for Russia

The remarks came a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed North Korea was getting ready to send 10,000 more troops to help Russia in its war against Ukraine. Zelensky said Pyongyang had already deployed 8,000 soldiers to fight on the Russian side.

North Korea has formed a strategic defense alliance with Russia. Under that arrangement, Pyongyang has expanded its conventional arsenal and sent troops and weapons to help Vladimir Putin. It has also deepened relations with China.

North Korea has tested nuclear bombs on six separate occasions and has shown it can deliver them on long-range missiles. Trump has repeatedly said he will meet Kim by the end of this year, even though no meeting has been planned.

According to Wall Street Journal, Trump has privately pressed aides to arrange a meeting with Kim in his next trip to Asia, which will take place later this year. He recently scaled back the Ulchi Freedom Shield drills with South Korea.

Trump called the 11-day joint military exercise “inappropriate and hostile” toward North Korea and costly to the United States. Allies were not expecting that change. After the drills were reduced, Kim’s sister Kim Yo Jong said that if the United States treated the move as “as some kind of goodwill measure,” it would “not get the answer that they desire.” Trump has repeatedly framed the exercises as a concession to North Korea, as when he cited his positive relationship with North Korea and Iran to reduce the drills with South Korea.

Kim Yo Jong also rejected Trump’s claim that he was in contact with Kim. She said she was “completely unaware” of any such contact. She said Kim still had “fond personal memories and feelings” toward Trump and that relations between the two leaders remained “excellent.” The two leaders’ relationship has remained a focus of attention, as Trump has pushed for a new meeting with Kim Jong Un in an attempt to rekindle their relationship.

Pyongyang has not publicly answered Trump’s calls for another summit.