Lawmaker wants Trump to meet North Korea's leader in Hawaii

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - State Rep. Gene Ward is no stranger to unconventional ideas.

He recently suggested bunkers under Diamond Head for storage be converted into bomb shelters. And he once proposed "urine-free zones" in key gathering places to cut down on public urination and defecation.

Now Ward is suggesting a meeting between President Donald Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. And he wants it to take place in Hawaii.

In a news release, Ward said he sent a letter to the president requesting the meeting.

"The purpose of the meeting is to put their differences on the table over the recent ICBM (inter-continental ballistic missile) tests that have shown that Hawaii and the US mainland are now in reach of North Korea's nuclear missiles," Ward said, in a news release.

Ward told Trump in his letter, "If we don't at least attempt to get the North Koreans to the table, we will have missed an opportunity with the possibility of a negotiated settlement, however remote this might appear at this stage."

The state lawmaker continued: "May I call upon one of your strengths as a strong negotiator and a master of the art of the deal to step up our diplomatic game and try to reach some understanding with the North Korean dictator."

Ward serves Hawaii Kai and Kalama Valley.