Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un meet in Singapore in 2018, a year before North Korea cited US-South Korean military drills in halting nuclear negotiations with Washington. <\/span>Evan Vucci\/AP<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n President Trump hinted<\/span> on Wednesday <\/strong>that his friendly relationship with North Korea\u2019s supreme leader Kim Jong Un may owe a lot to the country\u2019s strong nuclear capabilities.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe has 57 very powerful nuclear weapons. Should have never allowed it to happen,\u201d Trump told reporters outside the White House. \u201cBut he\u2019s got them. I get along with him very well\u2026As long as we have a smart president, he\u2019s gonna be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n On Wednesday afternoon, Trump said that<\/a> having \u201ca good relationship\u201d with Kim makes nearby countries like South Korea and Japan safer\u2014which may sound reasonable in itself. But by \u201cgood relationship,\u201d Trump seemed to mean building a collaborative connection solely <\/em>with Kim: \u201cI didn\u2019t like the fact that we\u2019re doing these massive military exercises really against North Korea when I\u2019m friendly with him.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s remarks came three days after he announced that he ordered the Pentagon to cut back on joint military training with South Korea<\/a>, citing President Lee Jae Myung\u2019s refusal to join his war against Iran.<\/p>\n On Monday, Trump further justified the cuts to joint military efforts\u2014which led Lee to call for South Korea to retake full control of its military operations<\/a> from the US\u2014by saying that the drills \u201csend a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile\u201d to North Korea, a country that \u201chas been unthreatening and respectful\u201d during his presidency. Trump also said he plans to meet with Kim later this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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