01:31 GMT
Jake Kwon
Seoul correspondent
Image source, ReutersWhile the main agenda in
this year’s Apec is trade, there is someone who is not attending the
meeting that is sucking up the air in the room: Kim Jong Un.
It has been long speculated
that Trump might swing by the border while he is in South Korea for a quick
photo op with the North Korea’s leader. It would be the two leader’s first sit
down since their negotiation broke down in 2019.
Trump appears to be open to
the idea. Each time he was asked by reporters leading up to the Apec, he responded with more and more enthusiasm over the potential meeting.
On his way to
Japan, Trump even said he would extend his stay in Korea if Kim were open to
meeting him. He dangled the possibility of lifting sanctions on the North.
Now the ball appears to be
in Kim’s court. He may think that he has nothing to lose. He can further
legitimise himself as a global player with a nuclear arsenal.
However, he has sent away
his foreign minister and time-tested master of dealing with the US, Choe Son
Hui, to Moscow this week, and he just launched his latest missile.
The last time the two
leaders met, it was decided after Trump tweeted an
invitation to Kim. Whether another meeting will take place this week might be
decided again at the last minute.