Posted on 05/16/2018 12:04:48 PM PDT by Signalman
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that "we'll have to see" if a planned summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un will still take place, as Pyongyang threatens to pull out of the meeting.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, the president stressed he would still insist on the isolated regime dismantling its nuclear program. Asked if Kim is bluffing by suggesting he could pull out of the summit, Trump responded, "we'll see what happens."
"We haven't been notified at all," the president said.
In an earlier statement delivered by a state news agency, North Korean First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Kye Gwan said Pyongyang would reconsider the meeting if the U.S. insists on denuclearization. The summit is set for June 12 in Singapore.
The State Department has said it will plan as if the summit will still happen.
Earlier in the week, North Korea canceled a planned meeting with South Korea. The regime called joint U.S.-South Korea military drills a "provocation" and preparation for an invasion, according to reports.
The developments threaten a historic meeting during which the U.S. hoped to make strides toward Pyongyang abandoning its nuclear and missile programs. The U.S. and its allies such as South Korea and Japan have used economic sanctions to try to deter North Korea's development of nuclear weapons.
Trump has repeatedly insisted on full denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The U.S. has also suggested it may not be willing to reduce its military presence in South Korea, something North Korea could insist on as part of nuclear talks.
The top Senate Democrat, Chuck Schumer of New York, urged Trump on Wednesday not to give Kim "anything for free." In a tweeted statement, the Senate minority leader said, "We must be strong, and we must be resolute — this exercise should move forward."
The real confrontation here is between Kim Jong Un and his underlings. Un is only in his 30’s, and has to realize that the current situation isn’t sustainable.
That’s why he took the photo-ops with President Moon and Secretary Pompeo and think he really wants to move toward prosperity.
But a number of his underlings are all-in on the nuclear strategy they’ve been on.
As crazy as it may seem, I think Little Rocket Man is the voice of (relative) sanity in North Korea
C’mon Lil Kim.
I’m actually rooting for you to be seen as a great leader who brought his people into the 21st Century and eventually reunified with the south ala Germany....
Negotiation posturing...art of the deal.
Two possibilities I see: One rocket man has been faking this all along or two Soros has offered a shipload of money to kill this. Soros and the rest of left knows if Trump pulls this off it is game over for them, period. Peace prize or not Trump will be unstoppable.
We shall see what we shall see.
Yep, now Trump can offer to give up something of no importance to placate KJU, allowing him to appear to be a great negotiator to his people. Meanwhile Trump will have this leverage in actual negotiations.
The Art of the Deal 101... you must always be willing to walk away.
“Il”, not “Is”. Damned autocorrect!
I thought the Chinese issued a statement this morning urging Kim to attend the summit in Singapore on June 12th?
Move more Aircraft to Guam
All the commentators focusing on Trump and Kim may be missing the point. China is a wealthy and powerful country which can offer NK a lot NOT to open up to the West.
And the LSM still trumpets their hopes that the recent face-saving noise from the Norks = no meeting and a Trump "failure"...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.