Donald Trump confirmed Wednesday that he will meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un later this year. The confirmation came after a Wall Street Journal report indicating that he had asked his aides to set up an in-person meeting with the 42-year-old supreme leader. The report indicated that the session likely could come at November's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) event set to be held in Shenzhen, China. Trump's overtures to the North Korean strongman come after he denounced a joint military drill with South Korea, noting that the American military participation with the South could send the wrong message to Pyongyang. The Republican met with Kim three times in his first term, most notably at the demilitarized zone, or DMZ, on the Korean border. Those talks yielded no denuclearization concessions from North Korea at the time. Though US presidents have been reluctant to embrace Kim, who has been accused of human rights abuses, the President noted Wednesday: 'I get along with him.' 'The fact that I get along with him, that's a good thing, not a bad thing,' he added.

Past efforts to convince Kim of denuclearization have fallen on deaf ears, and he has only increased his atomic arsenal since the meetings with Trump over half a decade ago. 'He has 57 very powerful nuclear weapons,' Trump declared on Wednesday, sharing an oddly specific number that hadn't previously been reported, though approximate estimates over the nation's stockpile were previously reported to be around 60. The president slammed past administrations for having 'allowed' North Korea to develop the warheads. 'If I were president, I wouldn't have allowed it,' Trump continued.

'But he's got them.' Trump's outreach comes on the heels of his order to substantially reduce the annual US-South Korea Ulchi Freedom Shield joint military drills. On Sunday, the Republican called the exercises 'costly' and said they send a 'totally inappropriate and hostile' signal to North Korea. Following his declaration on social media, the Pentagon and South Korean military reached an agreement to end the 11-day exercise on August 21, six days earlier than originally scheduled. They also agreed to scale back some of the still-planned exercises.

South Korean military officials said they were not given advance warning of Trump's directive. Pressed on whether he has been sending personal letters to Kim, Trump refused to answer. 'I can't tell you that,' he responded. On Monday, the President said at an Oval Office event that he had been in communication with Kim. The specifics of the scheduled meeting between Trump and Kim have not been revealed. Still, the embrace of the North Korean dictator stands as a stark reversal from past insults the president has lobbed at Kim. Trump called Kim 'little rocket man' during his first term, warning that their threats against the US would be 'met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.'