On Trump's Trip, One Longshot Is a Meeting With Kim Jong Un

President Trump leaves for a high-profile tour of Asia on Friday night, his first visit to the region since returning to office. The big event is an expected meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, though Reuters notes that much uncertainty exists over how substantive it will be. Meanwhile, speculation is brewing that Trump might also meet with North Korea's Kim Jong Un. The rough itinerary:

• Trump leaves about 11pm Friday for Malaysia, where he is scheduled to meet with the country's prime minister on Sunday and attend a dinner for Southeast Asian leaders, per CNN.
• He then heads to Japan for talks on Tuesday with newly elected Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. (She's also a heavy metal drummer.)

• The next leg takes Trump to South Korea on Wednesday for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, where the spotlight will be on his face-to-face meeting with Xi—their first direct encounter of Trump's second term. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said this week the meeting might be an informal "pull-aside," though Trump suggested the pair would have a "pretty long meeting," notes Reuters. Analysts will be watching to see if the two leaders can ease trade tensions, though no major breakthroughs are expected.
• In terms of a possible Kim meeting, the AP notes that Trump made an unexpected trip over the border the last time he went to South Korea, in 2019. The only hint of something in the offing is that South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young told lawmakers earlier this month that a meeting between the two was possible in the DMZ between the Koreas. As the Guardian puts it, "you can never say never with Donald Trump."