NK still open to talks with US
Despite Trump summit cancellation
SEOUL — North Korea said yesterday it was still willing to talk to the United States after President Donald Trump abruptly cancelled a summit between the two countries, a decision that has thrown the Korean peninsula once more into uncertainty.
Trump on Thursday called off his planned June meeting with Kim Jong Un, blaming "open hostility" from the North Korean regime and warning Pyongyang against committing any "foolish or reckless acts."
In a personal letter to Kim, Trump announced he would not go ahead with the June 12 summit in Singapore, following what the White House called a "trail of broken promises" by the North.
Pyongyang's immediate reaction to the sudden u-turn was conciliatory. First Vice ForeignMinisterKimKyeGwan called Trump's decision "unexpected" and "regrettable" but he left the door open for further diplomacy.
"We again state to the US our willingness to sit face-toface at any time in any form to resolve the problem," he said in a statement carried by the staterun KCNA news agency.
Just before Trump announced the cancellation of the talks, North Korea declared it had "completely" dismantled its nuclear test site, in a carefully choreographed move portrayed as a goodwill gesture ahead of the summit.
But the chances of success for the unprecedented face-to-face had recently been thrown into doubt.
Trump's announcement came a day after Pyongyang hardened its rhetoric, calling comments by Vice President Mike Pence "ignorant and stupid."
"Sadly, based on the tremendous anger and open hostility displayed in your most recent statement, I feel it is inappropriate, at this time, to have this long-planned meeting," read Trump's letter to Kim, which was dictated word for word by the US leader, according to a senior White House official.
He said talks could still go ahead "at a later date".
The decision blindsided treaty ally South Korea, which until now had brokered a remarkable detente between Washington and Pyongyang.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in called the move "shocking and very regrettable" as he scrambled his national security team.
Seoul's foreign ministry said US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo phoned his South Korean counterpart Kang Kyung-wha Friday morning and said the two nations should continue efforts to "create conditions" for talks with Pyongyang.