Trump hints at direct US talks with North Korea
President Donald Trump can laugh at himself, and he says no one does it better, like much else.
“Nobody does self-deprecating better than I do,” he said at an annual dinner in which politicians and journalists rib each other in remarks and skits, off camera.
He went on demonstrate how. “I won’t rule out direct talks with Kim Jong Un, I just won’t,” he said of the North Korean leader with whom he has been trading insults. “As far as the risk of dealing with a madman is concerned, that’s his problem not mine.”
The president teased the possibility of talks, saying North Korea had “called up” and asked to begin talks but that he responded with “you have to denuke” first.
Was that said seriously? No word on it yet. But hours later on Sunday, South Korea’s presidency announced that a highlevel delegation of South Korean officials will travel to North Korea on Monday to discuss improving relations on the peninsula and possible talks between Washington and Pyongyang. After the two-day visit to North Korea, the special envoys will travel to the United States to brief officials on their discussions in Pyongyang, South Korea’s presidential Blue House said.
Last month, US Vice President Mike Pence was scheduled to meet with North Korean officials, including leader Kim Jong Un’s sister, while in South Korea for the Winter Olympics but the North Koreans cancelled at the last minute, US officials said.
“Another calm week at the White House,” Trump said near the start of his 35-minute riff at the Gridiron Club dinner on Saturday. It was indeed, marked by the exit of his long-time aide Hope Hicks; and the downgrading of his son-in-law Jared Kushner’s security clearance.