Prez says US open to North Korea talks at right time
President Donald Trump said the US was open to joining discussions with South Korea and North Korea at “the appropriate time,” and that he would be willing to speak directly with Kim Jong Un under the right conditions.
“Right now, they’re talking Olympics. It’s a start. It’s a big start,” Trump said at a news conference at Camp David about talks expected Tuesday between South Korea and North Korea. It would be “great for humanity” if something beyond cooperation in next month’s Winter Olympic Games resulted, he said. When asked whether he would be open to talking with the North Korean leader, whom he has dismissed in Twitter messages and in a United Nations speech as “Rocket Man,” Trump said, “Sure, I always believe in talking,” adding that “he knows I’m not messing around, not even a little bit.” Trump’s openness to talks recalled his more accommodating approach during the 2016 campaign, when he said he could negotiate with Kim over a hamburger. More recently, he had dismissed diplomatic efforts, even publicly chiding US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in October for “wasting his time” by pursing them. In August, Trump vowed to unleash “fire and fury” if North Korea threatened the US and on Tuesday warned Kim on Twitter that his nuclear button was “much bigger and more powerful.” Trump argued Saturday that talks wouldn’t be possible without his tough rhetoric.