Kim ‘begged’ for meeting

Giuliani denies comments unwise ahead of summit

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani yesterday claimed that US President Donald Trump’s tough line had forced North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to beg to reschedule a high-profile summit after the President 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.

Giuliani, a strong supporter of Israel who is there for a string of appearances, rejected suggestions that such comments might sour the atmosphere ahead of Tuesday’s summit, saying that Kim must understand that the United States is in a position of strength. “It is pointing out that the

It is pointing out that the President is the stronger figure. And you’re not going to have useful negotiations unless he accepts that. Rudy Giuliani

President is the stronger figure,” he told the Associated Press. “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 VicePresident Mike Pence, national security adviser John Bolton and threatened “nuclear annihilation” of the US.

“President Trump didn’t take that. What he did was he called off the summit,” he said.

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

The summit is back on in Singapore on Tuesday.

Giuliani, Trump’s lawyer in the Russian investigation, noted that he was sharing a personal opinion and was not part of the US foreign policy team. When US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meet in Singapore on Tuesday, a celebrity guest might be present: Dennis Rodman, one of only a few people to have met both Trump and Kim.

Rodman’s agent, Chris Volo, who has accompanied the basketball player on four of his five trips to North Korea, said in a phone call with the

yesterday that Rodman “would love to go, but we have a few logistical things” to deal with before the trip can be confirmed.

Volo said Rodman would be an appropriate third party to the summit because he has a relationship with the two leaders: He twice appeared on Trump’s TV show,

and he has met Kim multiple times. In 2013, he called the North Korean leader his “friend for life”. “I strongly believe they would be very happy if Dennis was there for moral support,” Volo said.

Volo said that Rodman and the