Americas

Americas

Trump says 'We'll see' on North Korea summit, to insist on denuclearization

16 May 2018 21:06 (UTC +04:00)

U.S. President Donald Trump acknowledged on Wednesday it was unclear if his planned summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would go ahead, and said Washington would insist that North Korea give up its nuclear weapons despite Pyongyang’s threat to pull out of the meeting, APA reports quoting Reuters, APA reports quoting Reuters.

North Korea threw the June 12 summit into doubt on Wednesday, saying it might not attend if Washington continues to demand that it unilaterally abandon its nuclear weapons. North Korea also called off high-level talks with South Korea scheduled for Wednesday, blaming U.S.-South Korean military exercises.

“We’ll have to see,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked if the summit was still on.

“No decision, we haven’t been notified at all ... We haven’t seen anything, we haven’t heard anything,” he added, while saying he would continue to demand denuclearization.

Cancellation of the summit, the first meeting between a serving U.S. president and a North Korean leader, would deal a major blow to what would be the biggest diplomatic achievement of Trump’s presidency.

Trump has raised expectations for success even as many analysts have been skeptical about the chances of bridging the gap due to questions about North Korea’s willingness to give up a nuclear arsenal that it says can hit the United States.

The White House said it was still hopeful the summit would take place, but Trump was prepared for a tough negotiation.

“The president is ready if the meeting takes place,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told Fox News. “If it doesn’t, we’ll continue the maximum pressure campaign that’s been ongoing.”