U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with American troops deployed in South Korea during his appearance at the Commander in Chief Ball in Washington on Monday evening, local time.

Trump spoke to members of the military at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, via videoconferencing, and asked, “How’s Kim Jong-un doing?”

He said, “So, could I ask you, how is it going in South Korea right now?” Referring to the North Korean leader, he said, “You have somebody with pretty bad intentions.”

Trump told the troops he developed a “pretty good relationship” with Kim, adding that Kim is “a tough cookie.”

Attention is focusing on why Trump, who has emphasized that the United States’ allies need to increase their share of their defense costs, chose U.S. Forces Korea to communicate with soldiers stationed overseas on his first day back in the White House.

Trump last visited the U.S. base in South Korea in November 2017, during his first presidency.