Shenzhen:Washington U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in China next week during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen. However, there are no plans for Trump to engage with North Korea during his upcoming Asia trip, according to foreign media reports.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the meeting with Xi and Putin is set for Thursday on the sidelines of the APEC summit, as reported by Bloomberg citing a White House spokeswoman. This meeting comes amid Trump's efforts to find a diplomatic resolution to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and while the U.S. and China continue to manage their differences over trade, tariffs, and other geopolitical issues.
In separate reporting, Reuters noted that a U.S. official confirmed there are no scheduled engagements with North Korea during Trump's trip, despite speculation about potential renewed diplomacy between Washington and Pyongyang. Trump has previously shown interest in engaging with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, citing their positive personal relationship, which has fueled speculation about a possible meeting during his visit to China.
Trump and Kim have had three in-person meetings during Trump's first term, with summits in Singapore in June 2018, Hanoi in February 2019, and at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom. However, a South Korean presidential official indicated that the likelihood of a summit between Trump and Kim during this trip is low. The official stated that while there is not zero possibility of talks, the probability of such an engagement is not high.