We made Kim beg for summit with US, says Giuliani

Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani yesterday boasted that US President Donald Trump’s tough line had forced North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to beg to reschedule a highprofile summit after Trump abruptly called off the meeting.

After the cancellation, ‘‘Kim Jong Un got back on his hands and knees and begged for it, which is exactly the position you want to put him in’’, Giuliani told a business conference in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv.

In an interview later with The Associated Press, Giuliani rejected suggestions that such comments might sour the atmosphere ahead of next week’s summit, saying that the North Korean leader must understand that the US is in a position of strength.

‘‘It is pointing out that the president is the stronger figure,’’ Giuliani said. ‘‘And you’re not going to have useful negotiations unless he accepts that.’’

Giuliani said Trump had no choice but to call off the meeting after the North Koreans insulted US Vice-president Mike Pence and National Security Adviser John Bolton and threatened ‘‘nuclear annihilation’’ of the US.

He said Kim quickly changed his position, expressed a willingness to discuss denuclearisation and asked to have the meeting again. ‘‘That’s what I mean by begging for it.’’

The summit is due to be held in Singapore next Wednesday.

Giuliani, a strong supporter of Israel, is in Israel for a number of appearances, including a speeches to a business conference and Onefamily, a group that supports Israeli families whose loved ones have been wounded or killed in Palestinian attacks.

Speaking earlier at the Globes capital market conference, Giuliani suggested high-pressure tactics should be used with the Palestinian Authority, which has cut off ties with the US to protest Trump’s decision to recognise contested Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Giuliani is leading the defence of Trump in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into whether Trump associates coordinated with Russia during the 2016 presidential election, and whether Trump took steps to shut down that investigation through actions, including the firing of FBI Director James Comey.

Giuliani claimed that Mueller had produced no evidence of wrongdoing by the president, and had stacked his team with partisan Democrats, including supporters of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. –AP