US-North Korea nuclear summit grinds to a halt

The US-North Korea nuclear summit in Hanoi ended abruptly without a deal on Thursday, with President Donald Trump saying he had decided to “walk” in the face of Kim Jong-un’s demands to drop sanctions.

The much-anticipated second meeting between the two leaders was supposed to build on their historic first summit in Singapore, but they failed to sign a joint statement as initially scheduled and the talks ended in deadlock.

“Sometimes you have to walk and this was just one of those times,” an unusually downbeat Trump said.

“Basically they wanted the sanctions lifted in their entirety and we couldn’t do that.”

But Trump insisted he was optimistic that the progress made before and during the summit left them in position to have a really good outcome in the future.

“I’d much rather do it right than do it fast,” he said.

He noted Kim had vowed not to resume nuclear or ballistic missile testing – something he previously identified as a yardstick for success – and reiterated their close relationship.

“We just like each other – there’s a warmth that we have and I hope that stays. I think it will,” he said.

The outcome in Hanoi fell far short of the premeeting expectations and hopes, after critics said their initial historic meeting in Singapore was more style over substance.

The leaders walked away with no set plans for a third meeting, though Trump said he hoped to see Kim again soon.

Ankit Panda, from the Federation of American Scientists, warned on Twitter that the White House’s expectation of further talks “does not have to be a perception shared in North Korea”.

“Kim may have left irate, for all we know.

“He may have no intention of continuing this,” Panda said.

In the original White House programme, a “Joint Agreement Signing Ceremony” had been scheduled in Hanoi and a working lunch for the leaders.

Instead, both men left the summit venue without signing anything and Trump moved up his news conference by two hours.

The US president, who touted his special relationship with Kim, frequently dangled the prospect of a brighter economic future for a nuclear-free North Korea, at one point saying there was “AWESOME” potential.

After the meeting ended, South Korea said the outcome was regrettable but meaningful progress had been made.

Before the summit, there was talk that there could be a political declaration on officially ending the 1950-53 Korean War.

There were also hopes Kim could pledge to destroy North Korea’s decades-old Yongbyon nuclear complex.