President Donald Trump said Thursday that he would "certainly" invite North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un to the United States if next week's nuclear summit in Singapore goes well.

A visit to the U.S. — which Trump added could take place at the White House — would be remarkable after decades of minimal contact between the U.S. and the communist dictatorship. The talks next week will mark the first time a sitting American president and North Korean leader meet face to face, as the U.S. aims to push Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear and missile programs and ease concerns about the prospect of armed conflict.

At a joint news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday, the president said he wants to eventually establish normal relations with North Korea if the regime commits to denuclearization. Abe also stressed that Japan — which has long had tensions with North Korea — is ready to normalize its links to Pyongyang, as well.

"Normalizing relations is something that I would expect to do, I would hope to do," Trump said.

While Trump said he sees the "potential to make a deal" with North Korea to get the isolated regime to abandon its nuclear ambitions, he stressed that he is "totally prepared to walk away" from the summit. Trump already canceled the meeting once before it was rescheduled, following a key North Korean official's trip to Washington.