(LEAD) Trump says N. Korea's Kim has 'pretty large' nuke capacity, will be 'fine' as long as he's 'around'（导语）特朗普称朝鲜领导人金正恩拥有“相当大的”核能力，只要他还在位，朝鲜就不会有事。
WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that N...
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(ATTN: UPDATES throughout) By Song Sang-ho
WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has a "pretty large" nuclear arsenal and will be "fine" as long as he is "around," calling Kim "a friend of mine" and claiming that Kim respects him.
Trump made the remarks during a press availability following his meeting with top executives of artificial intelligence firms, responding to a reporter's question about why North Korea can have nuclear weapons when he has said Iran cannot have nuclear arms.
"As long as I am around, he's going to be fine," Trump said at the White House. "You know why? He respects me and likes me."
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington on Sept. 29, 2026, in this photo released by the Associated Press. (Yonhap)
Trump pointed out failures by past U.S. administrations to stop North Korea from developing nuclear weapons.
"(Kim) does have a nuclear capacity, a large nuclear, pretty large nuclear (capacity), not like us, but he has a nuclear capacity," he said.
"You know why? Because they had presidents that didn't do what I did ... That could have been stopped. You know that. But they had presidents that weren't Trump, and they didn't stop."
The president also highlighted his friendship with the North Korean leader.
"He is a friend of mine. He likes Trump. (He) doesn't like a lot of other people. I am about the only person in the entire world that he likes, and I like him," he said. "I get a lot of heat when I say that. People say that's terrible."
Trump's claim about his ties with Kim came as he has expressed his intention to meet the North Korean leader later this year.
Speculation has continued that Trump might seek to reengage with Kim during his next trip to Asia, likely for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China, in November.
Trump had three in-person meetings with Kim during his first term: the first in Singapore in June 2018, the second in Hanoi in February 2019 and the third at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom.
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华盛顿，9月29日（韩联社）——美国总统唐纳德·特朗普周二表示，朝鲜领导人金正恩拥有“相当庞大”的核武库，只要他还“在世”，朝鲜就不会有事。特朗普称金正恩是“我的朋友”，并声称金正恩尊重他。
特朗普在与人工智能公司高管会面后的新闻发布会上发表了上述言论。当时，一位记者问他，既然他曾表示伊朗不能拥有核武器，为什么朝鲜可以拥有核武器。
“只要我在他身边，他就不会有事，”特朗普在白宫说。“你知道为什么吗？因为他尊重我，喜欢我。”
这张由美联社发布的照片显示，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普于2026年9月29日在华盛顿白宫向记者发表讲话。（韩联社）
特朗普指出，美国历届政府未能阻止朝鲜发展核武器。
他说：“（金正恩）确实拥有核能力，而且是规模庞大的核能力，相当庞大的核能力，虽然不像我们，但他确实拥有核能力。”
“你知道为什么吗？因为他们的总统没有像我一样做这些事……这些事本来是可以阻止的。你知道的。但他们的总统不是特朗普，他们没有阻止这些事。”
总统还强调了他与朝鲜领导人的友谊。
“他是我朋友。他喜欢特朗普。他不喜欢很多人。我是全世界唯一一个他喜欢的人，我也喜欢他，”他说。“我这么说的时候，很多人都在批评我。他们说这太糟糕了。”
特朗普声称与金正恩关系密切，此前他已表示有意在今年晚些时候与朝鲜领导人会面。
外界一直猜测，特朗普可能会在下次亚洲之行中寻求与金正恩重新接触，他很可能是在11月前往中国深圳参加亚太经合组织峰会。
特朗普在其第一任期内与金正恩进行了三次面对面会晤：第一次是 2018 年 6 月在新加坡，第二次是 2019 年 2 月在河内，第三次是在朝韩边境的板门店。
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（导语）特朗普称朝鲜领导人金正恩拥有“相当大的”核能力，只要他还在位，朝鲜就不会有事。