Donald Trump has blamed China for Kim Jong-un’s apparent change of heart over their face-to-face meeting as he attempted to bring North Korea back to the table.
D onald Trump has blamed China for Kim Jong-un’s apparent change of heart over their face-to-face meeting as he attempted to bring North Korea back to the table.
In his fullest response to Pyongyang’s threat to cancel, the US president undermined his own national security adviser by saying the “Libya model” was not being used.
Mr Trump also promised Kim “protections” if he agreed to meet in Singapore as originally planned – an olive branch to North Korean leader.
The comments were made in the White House on Thursday as Mr Trump was meeting Jens Stoltenberg, the Nato secretary general.
The US president was due to meet Kim in Singapore on June 12 to discuss denuclearisation but the North Koreans unexpectedly said this week they could pull out of the meeting.
US-South Korean military drills, comments made by John Bolton, Mr Trump’s national security adviser, and demands for the regime to “unilaterally” give up its nuclear programme were all cited as reasons.
