Trump: "Kim Jong-un and I love each other"

"And then we fell in love, okay? Really, he wrote me beautiful letters. They were wonderful letters," he added. Some in the audience laughed and cheered.

Trump later complained that commentators would describe him as "unpresidential" for saying those words about Kim Jong-un.

Mr Trump and Mr Kim met in Singapore in June. The Trump administration is preparing for a second summit to continue discussions on denuclearization. The date and location have not been announced. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Pyongyang next month.

Although North Korea has taken some steps such as dismantling its nuclear test site and suspending missile tests, it has not met US demands to provide a complete inventory of its nuclear arsenal.

The US is keeping up the pressure on North Korea with sanctions. North Korea's foreign minister told the United Nations this week that sanctions meant they could no longer trust the US and that they would not give up their weapons.