The Japan Times - Trump eyes N.Korea meet as he ambushes S.Korea leader

Trump, who met Kim Jong Un three times in his first term, hailed their relationship and that he knew him "better than anybody, almost, other than his sister."

"Someday I'll see him. I look forward to seeing him. He was very good with me," Trump told reporters.

Trump contended that North Korea has been firing fewer rockets since he returned to the White House on January 20.

Trump has boasted that he has solved seven wars in as many months back in the job -- a claim that is contested -- but has been quiet on North Korea despite the unusually personal diplomacy during his 2017-2021 tenure.

Trump once said that he and Kim "fell in love." Their meetings reduced tensions but failed to produce a lasting agreement.

Since then, Kim has forged a close relationship with Russia, including sending troops to fight against Ukraine, and has dug in on refusing any dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear program.

- 'Purge or revolution' -

South Korea's new President Lee Jae Myung is a progressive who supports dialogue with North Korea, a potential area in common with Trump.

But hours before starting what he hoped would be a friendly first White House meeting, Trump took to social media to launch a surprise attack that was extraordinary even by the standards of the volatile US leader -- who acknowledged he did not know if his claims were true.

"WHAT IS GOING ON IN SOUTH KOREA? Seems like a Purge or Revolution. We can't have that and do business there," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

He did not initially specify to what he was referring.

Asked later by a reporter at the White House for clarification, Trump said: "Well, I heard that there were raids on churches over the last few days."

"Very vicious raids on churches by the new government in South Korea, that they even went into our military base and got information. They probably shouldn't have done that," he said.

"I heard bad things. I don't know if it's true or not. I'll be finding out."

He said he looked forward to seeing Lee, but added: "We won't stand for that."

Trump did not explain further but South Korea last month carried out raids on locations connected to the Unification Church, the religious movement often referred to by the derogatory term Moonies.

Known for mass weddings, the church was founded by the late Sun Myung Moon, who was an avid supporter of conservative causes both in South Korea and the United States.

The church, which has also come under fire in Japan, is under investigation for allegedly offering luxury items as part of lobbying efforts in Seoul.

Prosecutors are investigating whether a shaman passed along a diamond necklace and designer handbag on behalf of the Unification Church to the wife of impeached former president Yoon Suk Yeol.

South Korean prosecutors have also probed a far-right pastor accused of inciting a riot against a court that ordered the arrest of Yoon.

Yoon, a conservative with close ties with the United States, was impeached after he briefly imposed martial law in December in a massive expansion of power in the face of a deadlock in parliament.

His tactic was a throwback to South Korea's earlier era of military rule and was swiftly reversed after an impromptu popular revolt.

Trump has tested the limits of his own presidential authority, sending troops into both Washington and Los Angeles.

It is not the first time Trump has stunned an unsuspecting foreign leader with a disputable claim.

In May, Trump ambushed South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in a White House meeting by alleging a "genocide" against white farmers by the post-apartheid government, which denies any such campaign.

M.Sugiyama--JT