U.S. President Donald Trump has said he would be willing to speak by phone with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, a step back from his often-bellicose comments about communist state
"I always believe in talking," Trump told reporters at January 6 at the Camp David presidential retreat when asked if he would be willing to speak to the man he has described as "Little Rocket Man."
"Absolutely I would do that -- I wouldn't have a problem with that at all," he said, adding that there would be some unspecified conditions before any talks could take place.
The comments come after North and South Korea have agreed to hold their first official talks in more than two years, mainly to discuss Pyongyang's possible participation in the upcoming Winter Olympics in South Korea on February 9-25.
A North Korean Olympic official on January 6 said his country's participation was "likely."
Trump said: "I would love to see them take it beyond the Olympics. And at the appropriate time, we'll get involved."
The United States and North Korea have been in a war of words that has intensified each time Pyongyang has tested its ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons in violation of United Nations resolutions.