- President Donald Trump has canceled his historic summit in Singapore with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un next month.
- The meeting, which would have marked the first face-to-face encounter between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader, was set for June 12.
- “You talk about your nuclear capabilities, but ours are so massive and powerful that I pray to God they will never have to be used,” Trump wrote.
President Donald Trump has canceled his historic summit in Singapore with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un next month.
The meeting, which would have marked the first face-to-face encounter between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader, was set for June 12.
“Sadly, based on the tremendous anger and open hostility displayed in your most recent statement, I feel it is inappropriate, at this time, to have this long-planned meeting,” Trump wrote in a letter to Kim, which was released Thursday morning.
Stocks fell after news of the cancellation broke.
Much of the letter was written in seemingly friendly terms, including praise for North Korea’s recent release of three American prisoners, Trump also appeared to issue a threat that conjured memories of his war of words with Kim last year.
“You talk about your nuclear capabilities, but ours are so massive and powerful that I pray to God they will never have to be used,” Trump wrote.
The news came as North Korea made a show of dismantling a nuclear test site, but also on the heels of some sharp words from the North Korean government about America denuclearization demands.
Doubts had grown in recent days about whether the summit would actually happen. North Korea abruptly canceled talks with South Korea out of anger over joint military tests with the U.S. in the Korean peninsula. While Trump had repeatedly played up the historic significance of the meeting, he also often leavened his optimism with a cautious “we’ll see.”
On Tuesday, Trump said there was a “substantial” chance that the meeting might not take place at the planned time and location.
“You talk about your nuclear capabilities, but ours are so massive and powerful that I pray to God they will never have to be used.”
Earlier Thursday, a top North Korean official, Choe Son Hui, called Vice President Mike Pence’s remarks likening Pyongyang with Libya “ignorant” and “stupid.”
Pence had said North Korea could end up like Libya if it doesn’t make a nuclear deal with Washington.
“As a person involved in U.S. affairs, I cannot suppress my surprise at such ignorant and stupid remarks gushing from the mouth of the U.S. vice president,” Choe said, according to KCNA.
The vice president’s comments also echoed those of Trump’s national security advisor, John Bolton, who had suggested the U.S. could pursue a Libya-style denuclearization plan with North Korea. Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was eventually violently overthrown, a move the U.S. supported. North Korea’s Kim is concerned about regime change.
Trump’s move Thursday earned quick praise from Republican lawmakers. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said in a tweet that the president’s move was “100% the right decision.”
Kim Jun Un, in the words of a wise man âCongratulations, you just played yourselfâ. Withdrawing from talks with #NKorea is 100% the right decision. #KJU doesnât want a deal. He has deliberately sabotaged the talks over the last two weeks & was setting us up to take the blame.
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) May 24, 2018
Trump’s critics also seized on the news, but as a way to hammer the White House.
“The art of diplomacy is a lot harder than the art of the deal. The reality is, is that it’s pretty amazing that the administration might be shocked that North Korea is acting as North Korea might very well normally act.” Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., said in a hearing involving the new secretary of State, Mike Pompeo.
While he was still CIA director, Pompeo met with Kim over Easter weekend to establish diplomatic ties and work toward setting up the summit. Pompeo had also secured the release of the three American prisoners released by North Korea earlier this month.
There were no immediate details about how the administration would continue to pursue diplomacy with North Korea. Yet Trump left the door open for arranging a new meeting with Kim.
“If you change your mind having to do with this most important summit, please do not hesitate to call me or write,” the president wrote. “This missed opportunity is a truly sad moment in history.”
Read the full text of the letter here:
May 24, 2018
His Excellency
Kim Jong Un
Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democractic People’s Republic of Korea
PyongyangDear Mr. Chairman:
We greatly appreciate your time, patience, and effort with respect to our recent negotiations and discussions relative to a summit long sought by both parties, which was scheduled to take place on June 12 in Singapore. We were informed that the meeting was requested by North Korea, but that to us is totally irrelevant. I was very much looking forward to being there with you. Sadly, based on the tremendous anger and open hostility displayed in your most recent statement, I feel it is inappropriate, at this time, to have this long-planned meeting. Therefore, please let this letter serve to represent that the Singapore summit, for the good of both parties, but to the detriment of the world, will not take place. You talk about your nuclear capabilities, but ours are so massive and powerful that I pray to God they will never have to be used.
I felt a wonderful dialogue was building up between you and me, and ultimately it is only that dialogue that matters. Some day, I look very much forward to meeting you. In the meantime, I want to thank you for the release of the hostages who are now home with their families. That was a beautiful gesture and was very much appreciated.
If you change your mind having to do with this most important summit, please do not hesitate to call me or write. The world, and North Korea in particular, has lost a great opportunity for lasting peace and great prosperity and wealth. This missed opportunity is a truly sad moment in history.
Sincerely yours,
Donald J. Trump
President of the United States of America
Source: CNBC
