Trump seeks meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong Un before end of year

US President Donald Trump is reportedly pushing for a meeting within the next few months with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Trump has privately discussed setting up an in-person meeting with Kim during his next trip to Asia, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The development comes after Trump moved to "substantially reduce" US participation in joint military drills with South Korea, citing his "very good relationship" with the North Korean leader.

The drills are expected to be cut by about half, South Korean media reported.

The Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise, which began on Sunday, had been due to run into next week.

The allies were set to complete the first, defensive phase of the exercise this week and cancel or defer a second phase involving counterattack operations, reports by broadcasters KBS, MBC, as well as newspapers Kyunghyang and DongA, said.

Some planned field training was also expected to be postponed or cancelled, the reports said.

US Forces Korea declined to comment and referred questions to the Pentagon. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while South Korea's Defence Ministry also had no immediate comment.

North Korea again denounced the drills on Wednesday, saying it would continue exercising its right to self-defence against what it called military threats from Washington and Seoul, state media KCNA reported.

A KCNA commentary called the United States and South Korea "warmongers" raising tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

It did not mention Trump, his order or the reported plans to reduce the exercise.

- Reuters and RNZ