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Trump remains open to talks with Kim Jong Un as South Korea warns of North Korean missile reach
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President Donald Trump is open to talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un «without any preconditions,» a White House official said, as South Korea’s unification minister warned Pyongyang’s missiles could reach the U.S. mainland.
«President Trump in his first term held three historic summits with North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un that stabilized the Korean Peninsula. U.S. policy on North Korea has not changed,» a White House official told Fox News Digital. «President Trump remains open to talking with Kim Jong Un, without any preconditions.»
South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young used blunt language in Berlin this week, telling reporters, «North Korea has become one of the three countries capable of attacking the U.S. mainland,» according to the Yonhap News Agency. «What needs to be acknowledged should be acknowledged rationally.»
The White House did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on Chung’s claim.
NUCLEAR THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA LOOM QUIETLY BEHIND WARS IN GAZA AND UKRAINE AT UNGA
President Donald Trump and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un at the Military Demarcation Line that divides North and South Korea, in the Joint Security Area (JSA) of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), June 30, 2019. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
Yonhap also reported that Chung said Pyongyang’s «strategic position is different» than in 2018, when Trump and Kim held their first summit in Singapore.
«Acknowledging this reality should be the starting point» in dealing with the regime, Chung told reporters.
But experts say North Korea has long held the capability to reach the U.S. mainland with intercontinental ballistic missiles.
«They’ve tested ICBMs for a long time,» said Bob Peters, senior research fellow for strategic deterrence at the Heritage Foundation.
«The question, then, for a long time, is, do they have a warhead that can go underneath a nose cone on an ICBM that goes by definition, exo atmospheric, comes down and then hits a target with some semblance of accuracy and then detonate and produce a nuclear yield,» Peters added. «That’s been the real question — do they have that capability? That’s not what it sounded like the South Korean minister said.»
TRUMP TOUTS KIM JONG UN RELATIONSHIP AMID SOUTH KOREA SUMMIT
Trump met with Kim three times during his first administration. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Kim has said dialogue with the U.S. is possible, but on his terms.
«If the United States drops the absurd obsession with denuclearizing us and accepts reality, and wants genuine peaceful coexistence, there is no reason for us not to sit down with the United States,» state media quoted Kim as saying.
A meeting with Kim would make Trump’s fourth sit-down with the dictator, at a time when his nation has once again grown increasingly hostile to U.S. interests.
In July, the White House said Trump «remains open to engaging with Leader Kim to achieve a fully denuclearized North Korea.» But North Korea asserted it would not meet the U.S. president if he was going to demand denuclearization.
On Monday, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son Gyong told the United Nations General Assembly that his country will never give up its nuclear program, Reuters reported.
Trump is scheduled to travel to Asia later this month for an economic leaders’ summit with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung. A senior U.S. official said no Demilitarized Zone meeting with Kim is currently on the agenda.
Talks between Trump and Kim quieted threats between the two nations but did not lead to a denuclearized North Korea. (API/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
Reports have suggested Trump may meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, Oct. 30-Nov. 1, though plans are still being finalized.
In a call last month, Xi invited Trump and first lady Melania Trump to visit China. Trump returned the invitation.
The same official said progress on nuclear talks depends on China.
«The first thing that would need to happen is for the Chinese to acknowledge and be more transparent about its own programs,» the official said.
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U.S. estimates put China’s nuclear arsenal at about 600 warheads in 2024, with projections of 1,000 by 2030. North Korea is believed to possess roughly 50 warheads, with enough fissile material for up to 90.
Pyongyang last year declared an «irreversible hegemonic position» after test-firing its Hwasong-19 intercontinental ballistic missile, which North Korea has claimed can strike the American mainland.
Trump is strengthening deterrence even as he keeps the option of «talks without preconditions» open.
north korea,world,white house,donald trump,nuclear proliferation
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The Democrats are taking a big gamble by going along with a government shutdown, one that they will probably lose.
The most important reason is that President Trump has a giant megaphone. Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer simply can’t compete in drawing media attention.
What’s more, while some Americans may blame both sides – can’t they act like adults and work out these budget fights? – the Republicans are blaming the «Democrat Party» for triggering the shutdown.
At yesterday’s White House briefing, itself a key advantage, JD Vance and Karoline Leavitt kept repeating, like a mantra, that the Democrats support «healthcare for illegal aliens.» That is bunk. They aren’t eligible. It’s already against the law, except in emergency situations. But Trump is pounding that message home through sheer repetition.
VANCE BLAMES SCHUMER’S FEAR OF AOC PRIMARY CHALLENGE AS SHUTDOWN CAUSE
Democratic leadership sits at a sizable disadvantage when it comes to government shutdown-related messaging. (J. Scott Applewhite, file/AP Photo)
A Washington Post editorial yesterday says «Democrats just marched into a shutdown trap … Progressives embraced the same disastrous mentality that led the House Freedom Caucus to believe it could come out ahead in previous government funding standoffs: They wrongly assumed their political leverage would withstand the ensuing fallout.»
A few minutes after the briefing, Hakeem Jeffries stepped before the microphones to declare that Republicans don’t want to provide healthcare «to working-class Americans.»
The minority leader said the administration is trying to «jam their extreme right-wing agenda down the throats of the American people … The Republican healthcare crisis is immoral.»
Frankly, it just didn’t sound as forceful or have the same impact.
Vice President JD Vance suggested Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is pivoting left for fear of a primary challenge by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. (Alex Brandon, Pool/AP Photo)
Whatever the immediate toll of the shutdown – military people and hundreds of thousands of civilians not getting paid, food stamps on hold – Vance and Leavitt blamed it on Democratic intransigence. (Those laid off will get back pay once the shutdown ends.)
The vice president said Schumer is moving left because he’s terrified of a primary challenge by AOC. She says her only goal is to «stop this madness.»
The president has been more candid, telling reporters: «We can do things during the shutdown that are irreversible, that are bad for them and irreversible by them. Like cutting vast numbers of people out, cutting things that they like, cutting programs that they like.» Now that’s transparency.
The Dems don’t hold the moral high ground when it comes to kick-the-can votes to delay a shutdown, having frequently used the tactic when they were in charge. While Vance says they’d be happy to talk about healthcare during a seven-week delay, the other party feels they would lose whatever leverage they have, and it would be politically humiliating.
The Democrats are making a more complicated argument about healthcare, and that’s a tougher sell for the many millions who don’t follow the news closely.
KFF, which is Kaiser, says those on Obamacare would get socked if tax credits are allowed to expire at year’s end. Average premiums next year would be $888, but without the tax credits, would jump to $1,593 – a 114 percent increase.
That would really cripple the Affordable Care Act and knock millions off the rolls.
SOCIAL SECURITY, AIRPORTS, FOOD STAMPS: HOW ARE YOU AFFECTED DURING A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN?
The Dems’ other objection is to deep cuts in Medicaid, despite Trump’s promise to protect the program. But that’s why we have elections. Having lost the House, Senate and White House, the party can’t expect the GOP to make sweeping changes to its preferred budget.
It just so happens – a coincidence, I’m sure – that the administration yesterday halted $18 billion in funding for two major transportation projects in New York City, expansion of the Second Avenue subway and new train tunnels under the Hudson River.
A shot at Schumer’s hometown? Vance says this is a question of «triage,» saving money on such projects to preserve essential services.
But it’s really a case of Trump going after Democratic priorities, as he said he would, since he preserved funding for one of his pet projects, the mission of returning to the moon, which seems less than vital at the moment.
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., appeared outraged by an AI image of him shared online by the president. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu/Getty Images)
What really got Jeffries mad after Monday’s unsuccessful White House meeting was a fake AI image posted by the president. It depicted him as having a handlebar mustache and wearing a huge sombrero, with mariachi music in the background.
Jeffries called the parody «racist» and demanded that the president «say it to my face.»
The bottom line, given the atmosphere of mutual distrust, is that this government closure could drag on for awhile. That would gradually boost the pain level, and the Democrats are already at a disadvantage.
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At this point the opposition party is trying to show the public that it can fight, and that, beyond the healthcare battle, may be its main message.
media buzz,donald trump,chuck schumer,congress,white house,government shutdown
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La misteriosa muerte del embajador de Sudáfrica en Francia al caer desde un piso 22: ¿Suicidio o asesinato?
Había sido denunciado por corrupción
La denuncia
Interferencias en investigación
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EXCLUSIVE: Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is accusing Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., of refusing to vote to end the government shutdown to kowtow to his left-wing base.
Johnson told Fox News Digital in a sit-down interview that Democrats’ refusal to budge on their current position came up in an hour-long call with President Donald Trump Wednesday afternoon.
«[Trump is] very bothered by that, that Chuck Schumer would do this, Democrats would do this, because we haven’t,» the top House Republican said.
He noted that Democrats had voted on a similar measure to what Republicans are offering on 13 different occasions under former President Joe Biden.
SOCIAL SECURITY, AIRPORTS, FOOD STAMPS: HOW ARE YOU AFFECTED DURING A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN?
House Speaker Mike Johnson, right, is criticizing Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s, left, for refusing to agree to a GOP-led plan to avert a government shutdown. (Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
«And even when the Republicans were in the minority, we did the right thing to keep the government open. And we fully expected that Schumer would do that again, as he always has, but not this time,» Johnson said.
«This is a selfish political calculation he’s made, that he’s got to prove to the far left that he’s going to fight Trump or something. So, we talked about our frustration with that.»
He said Trump appeared «happy» that Republicans remain unified in their federal funding stance but was concerned about the effects of a prolonged shutdown on everyday Americans.
REPUBLICANS ERUPT OVER SHUTDOWN CHAOS, ACCUSE DEMS OF HOLDING GOVERNMENT ‘HOSTAGE’
«But the reason we’re happy about that is because we know we’re doing the right thing for the American people,» Johnson said. «And Chuck Schumer and the Democrats are demonstrating that they are willing to inflict this pain upon the people for their own political purposes. And I think that is a tough thing for them to get over.»
He said of a meeting between congressional leaders and Trump that occurred Monday: «I tried my best in the White House, and he just is in no mood to have a real discussion about these issues. So, we are where we are.»
President Donald Trump, right, salutes Air Force Col. Christopher M. Robinson, commander, 89th Airlift Wing, before boarding Marine One upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, Friday, Sept. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)
Senate Democrats have now rejected a GOP-led plan to fund federal agencies through Nov. 21 three times.
The measure is called a continuing resolution (CR) and is aimed at buying House and Senate negotiators more time to reach a deal on fiscal year 2026 federal funding priorities.
The CR would keep current federal funding levels roughly flat while adding an extra $88 million in security spending for lawmakers, the White House and the judicial branch.
Democrats, furious at being largely sidelined in funding discussions, have signaled they would not accept any bill that does not also extend Obamacare tax subsidies that were enhanced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those enhanced subsidies are due to expire at the end of this year.
But Johnson, who called the Obamacare subsidies an «end-of-year issue,» argued that the bill was a simple extension of federal funding, leaving Republicans with no realistic path for concessions.
Sen. Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks with reporters near his office on Capitol Hill Sept. 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
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«If it was not clean and simple, if I had loaded it up with a bunch of Republican partisan priorities, then there would be something for us to negotiate. I could take those things off and offer it again. I sent it over with nothing attached at all,» he said.
«It quite literally is just buying us time to finish the appropriations process, which was being done in a bipartisan manner. So, I don’t have anything to give, there’s nothing I can give. And Chuck Schumer has made such outrageous counter-demands and proposals that he’s the one that has to come to his senses.»
He was referring to Democrats’ counter-proposal for a CR, which would have repealed the Medicaid reforms made in Republicans’ One Big, Beautiful Bill, while restoring funding for NPR and PBS that was cut by the Trump administration earlier this year.
Fox News Digital reached out to Schumer’s office for a response but did not hear back by press time.
house of representatives politics,politics,senate,government shutdown
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