Open for business, not for sale

Greenland is not for sale, local authorities said Friday, after a newspaper reported that US President Donald Trump is looking into whether it might be possible for the United States to buy the mineral-rich Arctic island.

Trump has expressed interest in the self-governing part of Denmark -- which is mostly covered in ice, -- asking advisors if it is possible for the US to acquire the territory, The Wall Street Journal said Thursday, citing people familiar with the discussions.

The president, a former real estate magnate, has been curious about the area's natural resources and geopolitical relevance, the paper reported.

Greenland is a self-governing region of Denmark, which colonised the 772,000 square-mile (two-million square kilometre) island in the 18th century, and is home to only about 57,000 people, most of whom belong to the indigenous Inuit community.

"#Greenland is rich in valuable resources such as minerals, the purest water and ice, fish stocks, seafood, renewable energy and is a new frontier for adventure tourism," Greenland's ministry of foreign affairs tweeted.

"We're open for business, not for sale," it added.

The office of Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen declined to comment when contacted by AFP.

But a former premier, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, tweeted: "It must be an April Fool's Day joke... but totally out of season!"

Some Trump advisors say acquiring Greenland, which is northeast of Canada, could be good for the US, while others called it only a "fleeting fascination" from the president, The Wall Street Journal said.

The US's northern-most military base, Thule Air Base, has been located on Greenland for decades.