White House aides have reportedly looked into the possibility of the US buying Greenland after President Donald Trump mooted the prospect on multiple occasions.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on Thursday cited unnamed advisors as saying the US leader asked his staff to "look into the idea" of purchasing the world's largest island, an autonomous country that forms part of Denmark.

The report said Trump, who is scheduled to make his first visit to Denmark early next month, has repeatedly asked advisers whether the US could acquire the territory, 80% of which is covered by a permanent ice sheet.

There is no indication that the purchase will be on the agenda for his talks with Danish officials.

Read more: Greenland: Massive 31-kilometer crater discovered beneath ice

Energy exploration

The WSJ said Trump had spoken with varying degrees of seriousness of the idea. The sources said he had expressed interest in the autonomous Danish territory's resources and geopolitical importance.

The newspaper said the president may seek to strengthen Washington's military presence in the Arctic. Thule Air Base is currently the US's northernmost installation.

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The Associated Press later cited an anonymous Trump ally who admitted that the president had discussed the idea but was not serious about it.

Copenhagen immediately rubbished the idea that Greenland was up for sale.

"It has to be an April Fool's joke. Totally out of season," former prime minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said on Twitter.

The populist Danish People's Party's foreign affairs spokesman, Soren Espersen, told broadcaster DR: "If he [Trump] is truly contemplating this, then this is final proof that he has gone mad."

It wouldn't be the first time an American leader tried to buy the island. In 1946, the US proposed to pay Denmark $100 million (€90 million) to buy Greenland after flirting with the idea of swapping land in Alaska for strategic parts of the Arctic island.

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This is Greenland: the world's largest island Record holder Greenland holds a number of world records. It is the world's largest island, the least densely populated territory on Earth, and home to the only permanent ice sheet outside Antarctica. Most of its 56,000 residents are Inuit, descendants of those who migrated there from what is now Canada in the 13th century.

This is Greenland: the world's largest island Home rule Greenland was granted home rule by Denmark in 1979. In 2008, Greenlanders voted in favor of an act that granted their government even more power. Before being a Danish territory, Greenland has also been under the Norwegian crown, and was even briefly claimed by Portuguese explorers in 1499.

This is Greenland: the world's largest island The North Pole Seen here in the capital, Nuuk, where about one third of Greenlanders live, is "Santa's mailbox." Thousands of letters addressed to St.Nicolas were delivered here every around Christmas each year. Some volunteers even sent handwritten responses to as many children as they could, until the mailbox was forced to close in 2018.

This is Greenland: the world's largest island Melting ice Greenlanders were among the first to feel the affects of climate change, both from rising sea levels and melting arctic ice. Recently, scientists recorded a massive ice melt on the island that hadn't been predicted to occur until 2070. If the all of Greenland's ice disappears, sea levels will rise 23 feet, destroying massive amounts of coastal areas worldwide.

This is Greenland: the world's largest island The mighty muskox A sign in Greenland warns travels to be aware of passing muskoxen, famous for the intense odor sometimes by males. They are native only to Greenland, northern Canada, and Alaska. After centuries of declining populations due to overhunting, muskoxen have recently been making a comeback due to new hunting restrictions.

This is Greenland: the world's largest island Tens of thousands of seals killed annually Much of Greenland's economy is dependent on fishing. One controversial form of fishing that is still allowed is seal hunting, often done by shooting seals that are sitting on ice sheets. Although it is widely accepted that the killing of seals could lead to extinction and other disasters for the ecosystem, some rural Greelanders entirely depend on hunting seals for their livelihood.

This is Greenland: the world's largest island Alternative transportation In some parts of Greenland, there are no roads, and locals must use dog sleds to get from village to village or to the sea. Snowmobiles must be important and are too expensive for many villagers. Author: Elizabeth Schumacher



Trump's legacy?

Lying between the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans, Greenland is mostly self-ruled, though Denmark remains in charge of foreign affairs, defense and monetary policy.

The 2-million square kilometer (772,000 square-mile) island is home to just 57,000 people, most of whom belong to the indigenous Inuit community.

Greenland is suffering from the effects of climate change, according to scientists. Its 3-kilometer thick (1.9-mile) ice sheet is melting and threatens to submerge the world's coastal areas one day.

July saw unprecedented melting of the ice sheet, with 12 billion tons of ice flowing into the sea.

Watch video 04:04 Share Arctic melt: the race for resources Send Facebook google+ Whatsapp Tumblr linkedin stumble Digg reddit Newsvine Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/3G6nI Arctic melt: the race for resources

mm/rc (AP, dpa)

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