IAEA chief backs potential Trump-Kim meeting, calls it 'very important': Report

The chief of the UN nuclear watchdog has expressed his support for a potential meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, saying it is "very important" that the leaders meet, according to a report.

Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, made the remarks in an interview with The Washington Post on Wednesday, as Trump recently expressed his intention to meet Kim later this year.

"It's very important that they meet," Grossi was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

He added, "Leaders need to see each other."

Grossi also said that Kim's reputation as a human rights abuser and autocrat should not preclude engagement, according to the report.

He pointed to Trump's efforts to broker an agreement between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as he underscored the importance of diplomacy.

"People say, 'How can you be shaking hands with this?' Shaking hands is what diplomacy is for," he said. "And then, after the handshake, there is hopefully a conversation, and in that conversation, which should be cordial and respectful, you are trying to get something done."

Trump's quest to resume summitry with Kim has drawn mixed reactions.

Some have expressed hope that it could rekindle stalled peace endeavors and help reduce tensions on the Korean Peninsula, while others have voiced concerns that it could further legitimize Kim as a world leader while the goal of the North's denuclearization remains elusive.

The Wall Street Journal has reported that Trump is seeking a meeting with Kim that could take place during his next trip to Asia, likely during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC, summit in Shenzhen, China, in November.

Trump had three in-person meetings with Kim during his first term: the first in Singapore in June 2018, the second in Hanoi, Vietnam in February 2019 and the third at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom in June 2019.

Yonhap