Trump says he is willing to talk to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un

The US presidential candidate has also called for a renegotiation of the Paris climate accord and says he disapproves of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s actions in eastern Ukraine.

US presidential candidate Donald Trump (pictured right) said he was open to talking to North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un (pictured left), and would 'absolutely' try to talk some sense into him. KCNA hShow more

NEW YORK // Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump says he is willing to talk to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to try to stop Pyongyang’s nuclear programme, proposing a major shift in US policy toward the isolated nation.

The real estate tycoon – who claimed again on Tuesday he is worth “in excess of US$10 billion (Dh36.7bn)”, more than twice the level of independent estimates – also called for a renegotiation of the Paris climate accord and said he disapproved of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s actions in eastern Ukraine.

The Republican nominee declined to share details of his plans to deal with North Korea, but said he was open to talking to its leader.

“I would speak to him, I would have no problem speaking to him,” he said.

Asked whether he would try to talk some sense into the North Korean leader, Mr Trump replied, “Absolutely.”

North Korea’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Mr Trump’s remarks.

Mr Trump, 69, also said he would press China, Pyongyang’s only major diplomatic and economic supporter, to help find a solution.

“I would put a lot of pressure on China because economically we have tremendous power over China,” he said on Tuesday. “China can solve that problem with one meeting or one phone call.”

A Chinese official said dialogue was needed to resolve issues on the Korean peninsula.

“China supports direct talks and communication between the United States and North Korea. We believe this is beneficial,” said foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei.

Mr Trump’s preparedness to talk directly with Mr Kim contrasts with president Barack Obama’s policy of relying on senior US officials to talk to senior North Korean officials.

Mr Obama has not engaged personally with Kim, but has pushed for new diplomatic overtures to Iran and Cuba that produced a nuclear deal with Tehran and improved ties with Havana.

On Russia, meanwhile, Mr Trump tempered past praise of Mr Putin, saying the nice comments the Russian president has made about him in the past would only go so far.

“The fact that he said good things about me doesn’t mean that it’s going to help him in a negotiation. It won’t help him at all,” he said.

An adviser to Hillary Clinton, the leading Democratic presidential candidate, criticized Mr Trump’s foreign policy comments, noting they came soon after he said he was unlikely to have a good relationship with British prime minister David Cameron.

“Let me get this straight: Donald Trump insults the leader of our closest ally, then turns around and says he’d love to talk to Kim Jong Un?” said Ms Clinton’s senior foreign policy adviser, Jake Sullivan.

Mr Trump “seems to have a bizarre fascination with foreign strongmen like Putin and Kim. But his approach to foreign policy makes no sense for the rest of us,” he said.

On Tuesday Mr Trump said he thought Mr Cameron’s criticism of him was inappropriate but “I’m sure I’ll have a good relationship with him”.

He added that he is “not a big fan” of the Paris climate accord, which prescribes reductions in carbon emissions by more than 170 countries. He said he would want to renegotiate the deal if he becomes president because it treats the United States unfairly and gives favourable treatment to countries like China.

“I will be looking at that very, very seriously, and at a minimum I will be renegotiating those agreements, at a minimum. And at a maximum I may do something else,” he said.

A renegotiation of the pact would be a major setback for what was hailed as the first truly global climate accord, committing both rich and poor nations to reining in the rise in greenhouse gas emissions blamed for warming the planet.

* Reuters, with additional reporting by Agence France-Presse