President Trump said Monday in an Oval Office interview that he would meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un if the circumstances were right.
"If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honored to do it," Trump told Bloomberg News. "If it's under the, again, under the right circumstances. But I would do that."
Trump made the comments as tensions between North Korea and the United States have risen in recent weeks. The Trump administration reportedly views North Korea as its top national security concern, and the president vowed in January that he would not allow Pyongyang to develop a nuclear weapon capable of reaching the U.S. mainland.
Last week, the administration announced tighter sanctions against North Korea as part of an effort to coerce the rogue state into freezing its nuclear and missile programs.
Kim Jong-un has defied the international community and worked to advance the development of his country's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, despite strong sanctions and effective diplomatic isolation. This year, North Korea has continued to test missiles after it carried out its fourth and fifth nuclear tests last year.
Trump sent an aircraft carrier group and a submarine to the region. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called last week for the United Nations to have a stronger response to North Korea.
"We must be willing to face the hard truths and make hard choices right now to prevent disastrous outcomes in the future," Tillerson said. "Business as usual is not an option."
North Korea also has one of the worst human rights records of any country in the world, according to human rights organizations, which is one reason critics have said Trump should not meet with Kim.