Trump is considering a second-term deal with Kim Jong Un to stop North Korean dictator building new nuclear weapons in return for limited economic sanctions relief

Donald Trump is mulling the idea of cutting a deal with North Korean Kim Jong Un that would allow him to keep some nuclear weapons if he wins a second term next year.

People familiar with his thinking said he was exploring an agreement that would lift some sanctions as part of an agreement not to be build any more nuclear warheads. 

South Korea's spy agency said recently it expected its secretive neighbor to conduct a nuclear test next year — its first since 2017.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are already at their highest in years. 

Kim is believed to be accelerating his nuclear and missile program, and has enshrined in law his nation's right to launch preemptive strikes.

President Donald Trump met with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un at the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam, in February 2019

This photo provided by the North Korean government shows what it says is an intercontinental ballistic missile in a launching drill in Pyongyang, North Korea on March 16, 2023

Against that backdrop, Trump is reportedly keen to strike a deal.

'He knows he wants a deal,' a source told Politico. 'What type of deal? I don't think he has thought that through.'

Such thinking would upend Washington's stance on North Korea as well as Trump's own hardline position, but would capitalize on the former president's friendly relationship with his North Korean leader.

One of the ideas being considered, sources told the outlet, would involve encouraging Kim to freeze its nuclear program, in return for aid and some relief from economic sanctions

It would include a verification mechanism to ensure he kept his word. 

Current U.S. policy demands that Pyongyang gives up its nuclear weapons. 

Part of Trump's motivation for changing tack is reportedly that it would allow a new administration to save resources and energy on pointless arms talks, which could be refocused on the bigger threat from China.

But it would likely rattle allies such as Japan and South Korea, as well as Republicans in Congress.

During his first term, Trump's position was encompassed by the acronym C.V.I.D., or the 'complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization.'

Trump and Kim met again the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone, South Korea on June 30, 2019

Kim taking part in a commemorative photo with participants of the Fifth National Mothers' Convention in Pyongyang earlier this month

Trump took a tough line on Kim after North Korea tested its first ICBM in 2017

Tensions grew after North Korea tested its first intercontinental ballistic missile, and Trump promised to rain 'fire and fury' on Kim's hermit nation if it threatened the U.S.

He called Kim 'little rocket man,' and at one point he even discussed the idea of launching a nuclear attack on North Korea and blaming it on another country.

His approach later softened. The two leaders met in 2019 and sent personal letters to each other, although their relationship did not deliver agreement on North Korea's nuclear arsenal. 

Experts estimate that North Korea has built at least 40 warheads, and could have more than 100.

Trump is the clear frontrunner to win the Republican 2024 nomination, and currently leads President Joe Biden in national polls.