U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping react as they hold a bilateral meeting at Gimhae International Airport, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, in Busan, Oct. 30, 2025. Reuters-Yonhap

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump could ask for Chinese President Xi Jinping's suggestions for engagement with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during their upcoming summit in Beijing, a former senior U.S. diplomat said Thursday, as he has repeatedly expressed his desire for dialogue with Pyongyang.

Former Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell made the remarks during a press meeting amid questions over whether the agenda for the Trump-Xi meeting, set for May 14 and 15, would include efforts to address North Korean issues, and whether Trump would seek to rekindle his personal diplomacy with Kim during his trip to China.

"I believe that one of the topics that will likely be on the table is ... I think President Trump will ask President Xi about suggestions about engagement with Kim Jong-un," he said.

He was referring to Xi's suggestions that would help the U.S. reach out to the North, and facilitate the resumption of diplomacy between the two countries.

However, Campbell expressed skepticism over whether Pyongyang would be interested in dialogue with Washington, as he pointed out shifts in the North's diplomatic and military standing that have transpired since Trump last met Kim at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom in June 2019.

"Kim Jong-un is now much more closely associated with Russia and China, is deeply involved in the conflict in Ukraine, and has doubled down on both nuclear and missile developments," he said. "I'm not sure they're as interested in diplomacy with the United States as they were in the past."

But he noted that the North Korean regime is a "deeply unpredictable actor," apparently raising the possibility that it could pivot toward engagement with Washington at some point.

"So let's see what the future holds," he said.

Campbell pointed out Trump's "persistent" outreach to Pyongyang, which has kept fanning speculation that Trump's personal diplomacy with Kim could resume if opportunities arise.

Source: Korea Times News