Trump says North Korea's Kim responded to his overtures

President Donald Trump says North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had responded to his overtures after Trump ordered the United States to scale back military exercises with South Korea.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump was asked why Kim had not responded to Trump's overtures.

Their relationship was a dominant theme during Trump's first term, including a series of letters between them, but has received less emphasis in his second term.

The pair held summits in 2018 and 2019 before negotiations broke down over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons arsenal.

North Korea is under heavy international sanctions over those weapons, as well as its ballistic missiles.

"Kim Jong-un has always treated me with great respect and we met on numerous occasions, actually, two primary occasions, spoken and spent time. I understand him. He understands me," Trump said.

The president on Sunday instructed the Pentagon to "substantially reduce" joint military exercises with long-term Asian ally South Korea, citing the cost of the drills and Seoul's refusal to take part in actions against Iran.