U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that North Korea was "sort of a nuclear power" as he left the United States for Asia on a trip that could include a meeting with Pyongyang's leader, Kim Jong Un.

Asked aboard Air Force One whether he was open to North Korea's demand to be recognized as a nuclear state as a precondition for dialogue with Washington, Trump replied: "Well, I think they are sort of a nuclear power.”

"When you say they have to be recognized as a nuclear power, well, they got a lot of nuclear weapons, I'll say that."