President Trump may meet Kim Jong Un during his November 2026 Asia travel, potentially at the APEC Summit in Shenzhen or ASEAN meetings in Manila, as a means of preserving U.S. influence amid China’s rise and North Korea’s closer ties with Russia and China.

Drawing on Trump’s earlier Singapore, Hanoi, and Panmunjom summits, any renewed dialogue would need to focus on restoring communication, reducing miscalculation risks, and pursuing gradual confidence-building rather than immediate denuclearization, given the persistent gap between U.S. demands and Pyongyang’s priorities.

Practical steps could include revived humanitarian contacts, military risk-reduction measures, and verification-assured limits on provocative activities, with South Korea’s involvement essential for sustaining joint defense while supporting a longer-term diplomatic process.

Donald Trump may be preparing to meet with Kim Jong Un in Asia, as the U.S. president is due to travel to the region in November 2026. A meeting could take place at the APEC Leaders’ Summit in Shenzhen, or at the ASEAN meetings in Manila. For the US, Korean Peninsula diplomacy is a way of preserving influence in the region while managing the rise of China and trying to promote security. A summit would need to be based on a realistic framework that includes gradual confidence-building, regional cooperation, and above all, sustained engagement.

Any new approach to U.S.-North Korea relations will have to be grounded in an understanding of what has and has not worked in the past, particularly during the first presidency of Donald Trump. It was Trump who first broke the ice of hostility at a Singapore summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and followed that up........

© Eurasia Review