Trump calls Kim Jong Un friend and says nuclear threat manageable

President Donald Trump said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is his friend and respects him, arguing that their relationship makes Pyongyang’s nuclear situation different from Iran’s and suggesting it would remain manageable while he is in office. Trump acknowledged that North Korea has a substantial nuclear capability, blamed previous U.S. administrations for allowing it to develop, and said its arsenal is smaller than America’s. His confidence in personal diplomacy contrasts with concerns about North Korea’s growing weapons program; South Korean estimates cited in coverage put its stockpile at 80 to 120 warheads. Trump and Kim met three times during Trump’s first term, but their 2019 Hanoi summit ended without an agreement, and they have not met in person since.