U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said Tuesday he is willing to hold talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, according to a Reuters report.

"I would speak to him, I would have no problem speaking to him," Trump was quoted as saying of the North's leader in an interview with the Reuters.

Trump also reiterated that he would pressure China to rein in the North, according to the report.

"I would put a lot of pressure on China because economically we have tremendous power over China," Trump was quoted as saying.

The report said that Trump declined to share further details of his plans to deal with the North.

It was the first time Trump has expressed a willingness to talk to the North's leader.

Trump has expressed deeply negative views of Kim, calling him a "madman" and a "maniac."

In a recent interview with Yonhap News Agency, Trump's top foreign policy adviser, Walid Phares, said that the real-estate tycoon would be willing to negotiate with "anybody if needed," but such talks won't happen as long as Pyongyang remains aggressive. (Yonhap)