President Trump said during an Oval Office meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in that he believes Kim Jong Un is "serious" about denuclearization but appeared to suggest that the June 12 date for the Singapore summit may not work out.
"It may not work out for June 12," Mr. Trump said seated beside Moon. He added, "If it doesn’t happen, maybe it will happen later."
"Frankly it has a chance to be a great, great meeting for North Korea and a great meeting for the world," said Mr. Trump, saying that the meeting "must" take place.
Mr. Trump hailed North Koreans as "hardworking, great people" adding that Kim would be "extremely happy" if a deal between the two leaders works out. He would not, however, confirm if he had been in direct talks with Kim yet.
"North Korea has a chance really to be a great country and I think they should seize the opportunity and we’ll soon find out whether they want to do that."
The president also appeared to insinuate that Chinese President Xi Jinping may have tried to sway Kim away from the summit, saying that his recent visit to China may have changed his attitude. "There was a difference when he left China a second time." He called Xi a "world class poker player."
Meanwhile, President Moon commended Mr. Trump, saying that he’s been able to achieve dramatic change in the region. "We’re one step closer to achieving complete denuclearization on Korean Peninsula, Moon said, adding "all this was possible because of you."
Trump touched on other topics during the roughly half hour press conference:
Trump on ZTE
"There is no deal. We will see what happens. We’re discussing deals. We’re discussing various deals. We can do a 301," Mr. Trump replied when asked about deals regarding the Chinese telecommunications company ZTE.
The president said the U.S. lost $500 billion for many years and then the numbers fluctuated. "When you are losing $500 billion a year you can’t lose in terms of a negotiation. It’s really easy to win. I want this to be a great deal for the United States and I want it to be a good deal for China too. It may not be possible."
Mr. Trump said President Xi asked him to look into the ZTE issue and said that he is doing so. He noted to reporters that he wants everyone to remember that his administration acted against ZTE in the first place.
Trump provides security assurance to Kim
"We will guarantee his safety, yes, he will be safe he will be happy. His country will be rich," Mr. Trump said when asked about Kim’s security concerns ahead of the summit.
"If you look 25 years into the future, 50 years into the future, he’ll be able to look back and be very proud for North Korea," he added of the potential success of the talks.
Mr. Trump told reporters that South Korea, China and Japan will be "willing to help and invest very, very large sums of money into helping to make North Korea great."
Trump on DOJ, FBI meeting
Mr. Trump called Monday’s meeting with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray a "routine meeting" saying that the DOJ wants to help get to the bottom of reports that an FBI informant had "infiltrated" his campaign in 2016.
"If they did that would be a disgrace for this country, that would be one of the biggest insults they we’ve ever seen."
When asked by a reporter in the room if he had confidence in Rosenstein, Mr. Trump ignored the question and replied: "What’s your next question please?"
Trump on China trade talks, summit
Asked if he was pleased with how trade talks with China went, Mr. Trump replied to the reporter’s question: "no, not really."
"China has been, I really call it a dereliction of duties," Mr. Trump said of unfair trade policies. He said there’s a long way to go in discussions but wants it to move "fairly quickly."
He said that U.S. has a "very powerful hand on trade" adding that there’s a "much bigger picture that I have in mind" with regards to trade disputes.
The president also insinuated that Chinese President Xi Jinping may have tried to sway Kim away from the summit, saying that his recent visit to China may have changed his attitude. "There was a difference when he left China a second time."
Meanwhile, President Moon said that he was aware that there are skeptical views about the success of the summit and whether or not North Korea will completely denuclearize – but that the U.S. shouldn’t think it will fail just because past attempts have. He commended Mr. Trump meanwhile, saying that he’s been able to achieve dramatic change in the region.
"We’re one step closer to achieving complete denuclearization on Korean Peninsula, Moon said, adding "all this was possible because of you."
Moon said that he has "every confidence that Trump will achieve a historic feat and I will offer all the support I can" adding that he will "guarantee the future of Kim."
Mr. Trump said that the future of the Koreas relationship is "largely up to them where to go" and that they’re currently looking at the idea of a successful South Korea and a successful North Korea.
The president suggested Moon may be having his own meeting with Kim. But declined to say whether he would or not.
Trump: Kim Jong Un "serious" about denuclearization
President Trump said during an Oval Office meeting with Moon that he believes Kim Jong Un is "serious" about denuclearization as he aims to push ahead with the Singapore summit.
"I do think he is serious. I think he is absolutely very serious," Mr. Trump said. The president however appeared coy in suggesting that the summit may take place later than the original June 12th date.
"It may not work out for June 12," Mr. Trump said seated beside Moon. He added, "If it doesn’t happen, maybe it will happen later."
"Frankly it has a chance to be a great, great meeting for North Korea and a great meeting for the world," said Mr. Trump, saying that the meeting "must" take place.
"You never know about deals…I’ve made a lot of deals. You never really know."
Meanwhile, Mr. Trump hailed North Koreans as "hardworking, great people" adding that Kim would be "extremely happy" if a deal between the two leaders works out. He would not, however, confirm if he had been in direct talks with Kim yet.
"North Korea has a chance really to be a great country and I think they should seize the opportunity and we’ll soon find out whether they want to do that."
Moon adviser says "99.9 percent chance" for U.S.-N. Korea summit
According to pool reports, President Moon’s national security adviser, Mr. Chung Eui-yong, spoke to reporters during the flight to Washington where he exprssed confidence in the summit’s liklihood.
"We believe there is a 99.9 percent chance the North Korea-U.S. summit will be held as scheduled". "But we’re just preparing for many different possibilities," the adviser told reporters.
On Tuesday’s meeting with Trump and Moon, Chung said these would be "candid discussions on how to make the North-U.S. summit a success and produce significant agreements and how to best implement those agreements."
