Trump cancels summit with Kim Jong Un, cites N. Korea’s ‘ open hostility’
Trump faults ‘ tremendous anger and open hostility’ from Pyongyang
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump abruptly canceled his summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un Thursday, blaming “tremendous anger and open hostility” by Pyongyang and abandoning for now a meeting that held the promise of a historic peace deal but also the risk of diplomatic meltdown.
In a letter to Kim announcing his decision to back away from the June 12 summit, Trump pointed to America’s vast military might and warned the rising nuclear power against any “foolish or reckless acts.”
The letter kicked off a day of mixed messages by the president, who declared hours later that “I really believe Kim Jong Un wants to do what’s right.” Then, after that, a senior White House official said the North lacked judgment and had reneged on its promises ahead of the summit. Trump said from the White House that a “maximum pressure campaign” of economic sanctions and diplomatic isolation would continue against North Korea, with which the U. S. is technically still at war, but he added it was possible the summit could still take place at some point.
North Korea issued a statement Friday saying it is still “willing to give the U. S. time and opportunities” to reconsider talks “at any time, at any format.”
Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan called Trump’s decision “unexpected” and “very regrettable” and said the cancellation of the talks shows “how grave the status of historically deep- rooted hostile North Korea- U. S. relations is and how urgently a summit should be realized to improve ties.”
Trump’s surprise exit capped weeks of highstakes brinkmanship between the two leaders over nuclear negotiating terms for their unprecedented sit- down. The U. S. announcement came not long after Kim appeared to make good on his promise to demolish his country’s nuclear test site. But it also followed escalating frustration from North Korea over comments from Trump aides about U. S. expectations for the North’s “denuclearization.”
The senior U. S. official said the North violated a pledge to allow international inspectors to monitor the supposed implosion of the site Thursday. International journalists were present, but the U. S. government can’t verify the site’s destruction. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid overshadowing Trump’s comments Thursday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, a staunch Kim ally, said the North Korean leader had in fact done “everything that he had promised in advance, even blowing up the tunnels and shafts” of his country’s nuclear testing site. Putin said of Trump’s announcement, “In Russia we took this news with regret.”
Trump, in his letter to Kim, objected specifically to a statement from a top North Korean Foreign Ministry official. That statement referred to Vice President Mike Pence as a “political dummy” for his comments on the North and said it was up to the Americans whether they would “meet us at a meeting room or encounter us at nuclear- to- nuclear showdown.”
But Trump’s letter also waxed poetic about the “wonderful dialogue” emerging between him and Kim.
Wrote Trump: “If you change your mind having to do with this most important summit, please do not hesitate to call me or write.”
Trump was briefed Wednesday night and made the decision to exit Thursday after consulting with top advisers, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton, said the senior official.
Pompeo, testifying to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said North Korea had not responded to repeated requests from U. S. officials to discuss logistics for the summit.
“We got a lot of dial tones, Senator,” he told Sen. Bob Corker.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D- Calif., said it was clear Trump “didn’t know what he was getting into and now he’s walking away” in a “very chummy, palsywalsy letter” that’s “kind of like a valentine to Kim Jong Un.”