Trump says summit with North Korea’s Kim could be delayed
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday there was a “substantial chance” his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would not take place as planned on June 12 amid concerns that Kim was not committed to denuclearisation.
Trump raised doubts about the Singapore summit in talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who came to Washington to urge Trump not to let a rare opportunity with reclusive North Korea get away.
If the summit is called off or fails, it would be a blow to what Trump supporters hope will be the biggest diplomatic achievement of his presidency, and a huge disappointment for Trump.
“There’s a very substantial chance … it won’t work out. And that’s OK,” Trump said.
“That doesn’t mean it won’t work out over a period of time. But it may not work out for June 12. But there is a good chance that we’ll have the meeting.”
Trump said whether the meeting will be held as scheduled would be determined “pretty soon”.
“North Korea has a chance to be a great country and I think they should seize the opportunity,” he said.
Trump’s Oval Office remarks were the strongest sign from him yet about the possibility of a delay or cancellation of what would be the first summit between the leaders of the US and North Korea. It was unclear whether Trump was truly backing away from a summit that he is eager to hold or whether he was strategically coaxing North Korea to the table after decades of tension on the Korean peninsula and antagonism with Washington over its nuclear weapons programme.
“Trump doesn’t want to look like he wants this summit more than Kim does,” said Bonnie Glaser, an analyst at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
“It’s a smart move to say that he is willing to postpone. But to be credible, the president really has to be willing to walk away and I’m not sure he is.”
Aides said Trump had privately been wondering whether Kim was serious about the summit after an abrupt change in tone last week from North Korea, which suggested the meeting could be cancelled if it was pushed toward “unilateral nuclear abandonment”.
Trump heaped praise on Moon as an “extremely competent“leader, despite some concerns voiced by US officials that Moon might be too willing to compromise with Kim.
Trump on Tuesday reiterated comments from last week, saying Kim’s safety would be guaranteed and his country would be rich if he denuclearised. But he said there were certain conditions that must be met and if North Korea refused, the meeting would not take place.
Trump said he would like a deal to commit North Korea to denuclearise over a “short period of time”.