President Donald Trump offered North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a ride home on Air Force One after the two met for a second time at a summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, in 2019, a new BBC documentary has reported.
The three-part series, titled "Trump Takes on the World," discloses new details about Trump and Kim's ultimately unsuccessful negotiations over North Korea's nuclear program.
Trump, who had left the meeting abruptly, told the press at the time: "Sometimes you just have to walk."
But Trump is said to have made an unusual offer first.
"President Trump offered Kim a lift home on Air Force One," Matthew Pottinger, the top Asia expert on Trump's National Security Council, told the BBC.
"The president knew that Kim had arrived on a multiday train ride through China into Hanoi, and the president said: 'I can get you home in two hours if you want.' It was a gracious gesture," he added.
Kim declined the offer, according to Pottinger.
The BBC series also included an interview with Trump's national security advisor at the time, John Bolton, who was present at the summit.
Bolton said that as they drove to the meeting, Trump was confident he could forge a deal once he was in the room with Kim.
"Trump obviously thought he had a new best friend in Kim Jong Un," Bolton, who has since fallen out with Trump, said, according to the Sunday Times. "Trump thought that US-North Korea relations were great because he and Kim were buddies. It's a very dangerous perception."
Kim and Trump ended up meeting for a third and last time in the Korean Demilitarized Zone four months later, but there was no further progress.
The pair had a complicated relationship during Trump's four years as president.
Trump referred to North Korea's leader on Twitter as "Little Rocket Man" and made threats of "fire and fury" but later suggested they were very good friends and even described him as "a very smart guy,"as noted by the BBC.
The third episode of "Trump Takes on the World," directed by Tim Stirzaker, will be broadcast on BBC2 on Wednesday.
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