By Steve Holland, Hyunjoo Jin, David Brunnstrom and Trevor Hunnicutt WASHINGTON/SEOUL (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he wanted to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un this year and that he was open to further trade talks with South Korea even as he lobbed new criticisms at the visiting Asian ally.

In the Oval Office, President Trump met his South Korean counterpart as the relationship between their countries has been strained.

Just months after Lee Jae Myung took office, his meeting with President Donald Trump was a pivotal foreign policy test for the newly elected president.