Trump cancels summit with Kim; North Korea still wants talks
WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump on Thursday abruptly canceled his summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un, blaming "tremendous anger and open hostility" by Pyongyang — a decision North Korea called "regrettable" while still holding out hope for "peace and stability."
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, "I really believe Kim Jong Un wants to do what's right." 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 US is technically still at war — but he added that 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 US 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-USrelations is and how urgently a summit should be realized to improve ties."
Kim insisted North Korea's "objective and resolve to do our best for the sake of peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and all humankind remain unchanged."
Trump's surprise exit capped weeks of highstakes brinkmanship between the two unpredictable leaders over nuclear negotiating terms for their unprecedented sit-down. The US 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 — and newly antagonistic rhetoric — from North Korea over comments from Trump aides about US expectations for the North's "denuclearization."
The senior US 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 US government can't verify the site's destruction. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid overshadowing Trump's comments Thursday.
Russi an Pr esi dent 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."