‘They have to de-nuke’: President confident of getting things done

President Donald Trump said Thursday he is “very well prepared” for next week’s summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un but the outcome depends less on preparation than “attitude ... willingness to get things done.”

Hosting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the Oval Office for consultations before the Singapore summit, Trump described the Kim meeting as “much more than a photo-op.” Abe requested Thursday’s meeting with Trump to elevate his country’s concerns about the summit.

“They have to de-nuke,” Trump said of North Korea. “If they don’t denuclearize that will not be acceptable. And we cannot take sanctions off.”

Trump said the talks with Kim will start a process to bring about a resolution to the nuclear issue. “I think it’s not a one-meeting deal,” he said. Asked how many days he’s willing to stay to talk with Kim, Trump said, “One, two three, depending on what happens.”

Still Trump predicted that he’ll know very quickly whether Kim is serious about dealing with U.S. demands.

“I don’t think I have to prepare very much,” Trump said. “It’s about attitude. It’s about willingness to get things done.”

Trump, who spent the morning before meeting Abe firing off a dozen unrelated tweets, added: “I think I’ve been prepared for this summit for a long time, as has the other side. I think they’ve been preparing for a long time also. So this isn’t a question of preparation, it’s a question of whether or not people want it to happen.”