U.S. President Donald Trump, right, poses for a photo with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un after signing a joint statement at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa Island in Singapore June 12, 2018. AP-Yonhap

U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will reach out to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un again, a remark that raised the prospects for the resumption of his summit diplomacy with the reclusive leader.

Trump made the remarks during a Fox News interview broadcast Thursday, portraying Kim as a "smart guy" and "not a religious zealot" — a description that appears to indicate his view that the North Korean leader could be somebody he can communicate with for a negotiation.

"I will, yeah," Trump said when asked if he will reach out to the North.

He recalled that when he came into the White House for a meeting with Barack Obama in late 2016, Obama singled out North Korea as the "biggest threat."

"(Obama) said North Korea is the biggest threat and I solved that problem," he said. "And I got along with him. He's not a religious zealot. He happens to be a smart guy. Kim Jong-un is a smart guy."

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media after signing executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., Jan. 23. AFP-Yonhap

Trump's reference to Kim as a non-religious figure appears to indicate he thinks there is space for a parley with the North, whereas he depicted Iran as a "whole different thing" in reference to the Islamic republic's religious nature.

During a press availability Monday, Trump called North Korea a "nuclear power," anticipating Kim will be "happy" to see his comeback to the White House. His remarks appeared to reflect the reality of advancing North Korean nuclear threats and his apparent interest in reengaging with Pyongyang.

During his election campaign, Trump repeatedly boasted about his personal ties with Kim, raising speculation that he would seek to restart his direct diplomacy with Kim.

Trump's interest in dialogue with the North appeared to have been evidenced by his personnel choices.

Earlier this month, Trump picked William Harrison — an aide who was involved in planning summits with the North Korean leader during his first term — as an assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff for operations.

Last month, he named former Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell as his presidential envoy for special missions that he said covers "some of the hottest spots" around the world, including North Korea, while tapping Alex Wong, who was engaged in working-level nuclear talks with the North, as his principal deputy national security adviser.

An emerging concern for Seoul is the possibility that the Trump administration could bypass South Korea to engage with Pyongyang if there is a lack of policy coordination between the allies, particularly at a time of political uncertainty in Seoul caused by now-impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol's botched martial law bid last month.

Trump had three meetings with Kim — the first-ever summit in Singapore in June 2018, the Hanoi summit in February 2019 and the meeting in the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom in June 2019. The United States and the North last held working-level nuclear talks in Stockholm in October 2019.

Some observers have said that Pyongyang's appetite for reengagement with Washington might have dwindled as it now relies on Russia for food, fuel, security assurances and other forms of support after its provision of munitions and troops to back Moscow's war in Ukraine.

During its four-year term, the preceding Biden administration had focused mostly on bolstering deterrence with South Korea and Japan to counter North Korean threats, as its repeated offers to engage in dialogue with the North "without preconditions" fell on deaf ears. (Yonhap)