Trump stirs confusion on sanctions

President Trump abruptly announced Friday he had rolled back U.S. sanctions against North Korea, confusing his own Treasury Department and prompting his press secretary to issue a statement praising Kim Jong Un.

Although it was not immediately clear what he was talking about, Trump tweeted, “It was announced today by the U.S. Treasury that additional large scale Sanctions would be added to those already existing Sanctions on North Korea.”

“I have today ordered the withdrawal of those sanctions!” Trump (photo_) crowed.

Despite the President’s claim, no U.S. sanctions against North Korea were announced Friday. A spokesman for the Treasury Department did not return a request for comment and neither did the White House.

Even though it was still not clear which sanctions Trump had actually rescinded, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the President took the action because of his affinity for North Korea’s iron-fisted dictator.

“President Trump likes Chairman Kim and he doesn’t think these sanctions will be necessary,” Sanders said in a statement.

On Thursday, Trump’s Treasury Department sanctioned two Chinese shipping firms accused of helping North Korea skirt economic sanctions. It’s unclear if those were the sanctions Trump now wants cancelled. John Bolton, Trump’s national security adviser, called those sanctions “important” when they were rolled out.

Trump’s abrupt sanctions cancellation comes weeks after denuclearization talks with Kim in Vietnam fell apart without a deal. Kim and his officials walked away from the summit without signing a joint agreement because they said the U.S. had made unreasonable demands.

Trump tried to downplay the disagreements after the failed summit and maintained a deal was still in the making.