“We are continuing to negotiate when to meet, how to meet.”
Jung Yeon-je/Getty Images
President Donald Trump said Thursday that North Korea is communicating with the United States as if they did not threaten to put the highly anticipated summit between Trump and leader Kim Jong Un on ice.
“North Korea is talking to us as if nothing happened,” Trump told reporters during an extended bilateral meeting between him and NATO’s Secretary General. “We are continuing to negotiate when to meet, how to meet. They’ve been negotiating like nothing happened.”
The president added that his team is currently working with North Korean counterparts to finalize details for the upcoming June 12 meeting in Singapore. His team has offered protections, including heightened security, for the regime’s leader — a sign of goodwill from the Trump administration.
“I’m willing to do a lot […] the best thing he could do is make a deal,” Trump said.
The White House has yet to announce the individuals who make up the delegation traveling to Singapore, but it’s expected that newly appointed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will joint Trump in his meeting.
The feasibility of the meeting in Singapore has been in question when North Korea announced Tuesday that they had canceled a meeting between their government and South Korea and were willing to withdraw from the U. S. summit, due to joint U. S.-Korean military exercises.
“The United States will also have to undertake careful deliberations about the fate of the planned North Korea-U. S. summit in light of this provocative military ruckus jointly conducted with the South Korean authorities,” according to a statement from North Korea’s state news agency.
At the time, the State Department said that they did not receive such communication from North Korea. Though it seems like the president is prepared for a possible cancelation.
“If the meeting happens, it happens and if it doesn’t we go into the next step,” Trump said.
Brittany Shepherd covers the White House for IJR. Before becoming the White House Correspondent, Brittany used to cover entertainment and pop culture… more
