US President Donald Trump said Friday that he and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have \u201cgreat chemistry\u201d and claimed the stand-off with the\u2026<\/b>
\nUS President Donald Trump said Friday that he and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have \u201cgreat chemistry\u201d and claimed the stand-off with the nuclear-armed Asian nation is \u201clargely solved.\u201d
Trump, speaking to reporters outside the White House, said he had given his \u201cvery direct\u201d telephone number to Kim, adding: \u201cHe can now call me if he has any difficulty.\u201d
\u201cThat\u2019s a very important thing,\u201d Trump said. \u201cWe have communication.\u201d
In a video message released later by the White House, Trump said Tuesday\u2019s summit with the young North Korean leader in Singapore was \u201copen, direct and very, very productive.\u201d
\u201cIf there\u2019s a chance at peace, if there\u2019s a chance to end the horrible threat of nuclear conflict then we must pursue it at all costs,\u201d he said.
The results of the Singapore meeting, at which Kim and Trump signed a pledge \u201cto work towards complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,\u201d have been greeted with skepticism by many observers.
Kim has not yet taken any concrete step to dismantle his nuclear programs.
Trump said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would be \u201cworking directly with North Korea\u201d in the coming weeks and months to \u201cimplement the denuclearization deal.\u201d
\u201cIn the meantime, sanctions will remain in place,\u201d he added.
Trump\u2019s unilateral decision to reduce tension by cancelling joint military exercises by US and South Korean forces meanwhile appeared to catch both close ally Seoul and some Pentagon officials by surprise.
But Trump recalled that when he came to office last year, his predecessor Barack Obama had warned that North Korea\u2019s growing missile and nuclear threat was the United States\u2019 \u201cmost dangerous problem.\u201d
\u201cI have solved that problem,\u201d Trump told reporters. \u201cNow we\u2019re getting it memorialized and all, but that problem is largely solved.
\u201cWe signed a very good document,\u201d he added. \u201cBut more importantly than the document, I have a good relationship with Kim Jong Un.
\u201cWe have a great chemistry together.\u201d
\u2013 \u2018Possible new avenue to peace\u2019 \u2013
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Friday praised a \u201cpossible new avenue to peace\u201d with North Korea, but warned the United States must remain vigilant to countries pursuing nuclear weapons.
But Trump seems keen to claim a quick diplomatic victory, and the halt to US military exercises on the peninsula is a significant concession to both Pyongyang and Washington\u2019s rival China.
AFP\/File \/ JUNG Yeon-Je US President Donald Trump has called a halt to the regular \u201cwar games\u201d held by South Korean and US troops to prepare for any conflict with the North
Some of Trump\u2019s domestic critics condemned his decision to halt what the president calls \u201cwar games\u201d with South Korea \u2014 using a pejorative term for military drills that US officials have previously rejected.
\u201cMaking unnecessary and unreciprocated concessions is not in our interests \u2014 and it is a bad negotiating tactic,\u201d Republican Senator John McCain said.
\u201cParroting Chinese and North Korean propaganda by saying joint exercises are \u2018provocative\u2019 undermines our security and alliances.\u201d
US and South Korean forces have trained together for decades, and routinely rehearse everything from beach landings in the North to pre-emptive \u201cdecapitation\u201d strikes targeting the North Korean regime.
Pyongyang typically reacts furiously. Following drills last year, the North fired ballistic missiles over Japan, triggering global alarm and ratcheting up a diplomatic war of words between Trump and Kim.
Those harsh exchanges are now apparently over \u2014 since the summit, Trump has lavished praise on Kim, once a global pariah credibly accused of torturing and starving tens of thousands of his own citizens.
\u2013 Sarcastic remark \u2013
Trump praised Kim again on Friday, in what turned into a lengthy unplanned interview with his favorite television show \u201cFox and Friends.\u201d
AFP\/File \/ SAUL LOEB US President Donald Trump said he has developed \u2018great chemistry\u2019 with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un
\u201cHey, he is the head of a country and I mean he is the strong head. Don\u2019t let anyone think anything different. He speaks and his people sit up at attention. I want my people to do the same,\u201d he said.
Trump later told reporters that his remark about Americans standing to attention was \u201csarcasm.\u201d
But, asked why he had praised Kim at all, given his history of rights abuses and the death of US student Otto Warmbier after he fell into a coma in North Korean custody, Trump set up a stark choice.
\u201cBecause I don\u2019t want to see a nuclear weapon destroy your family,\u201d he told one reporter.
And as to the military drills, Trump said he had wanted to halt them long before he travelled to Singapore to meet Kim.
US President Donald Trump said Friday that he and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have \u201cgreat chemistry\u201d and claimed the stand-off with the nuclear-armed Asian nation is \u201clargely solved.\u201d
Trump, speaking to reporters outside the White House, said he had given his \u201cvery direct\u201d telephone number to Kim, adding: \u201cHe can now call me if he has any difficulty.\u201d
AFP\/File \/ JUNG Yeon-Je US President Donald Trump has called a halt to the regular \u201cwar games\u201d held by South Korean and US troops to prepare for any conflict with the North
Some of Trump\u2019s domestic critics condemned his decision to halt what the president calls \u201cwar games\u201d with South Korea \u2014 using a pejorative term for military drills that US officials have previously rejected.
\u201cMaking unnecessary and unreciprocated concessions is not in our interests \u2014 and it is a bad negotiating tactic,\u201d Republican Senator John McCain said.
AFP\/File \/ SAUL LOEB US President Donald Trump said he has developed \u2018great chemistry\u2019 with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un
\u201cHey, he is the head of a country and I mean he is the strong head. Don\u2019t let anyone think anything different. He speaks and his people sit up at attention. I want my people to do the same,\u201d he said.
Trump later told reporters that his remark about Americans standing to attention was \u201csarcasm.\u201d<\/p>\n