President Donald Trump said he’s open to talking to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and is hoping some good can come from upcoming talks between the Koreas.
Trump, answering questions from reporters at the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland, expressed a willingness to talk to Kim – who he’s referred to as ‘Rocket Man’ but not without preconditions.
‘Sure, I always believe in talking,’ Trump said in response to a question about whether he’d speak with Kim.
‘Absolutely, I would do that,’ he said, stressing he would also ‘be very firm.’
President Donald Trump (pictured, Friday) aid he’s open to talking to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and is hoping some good can come from upcoming talks between the Koreas
North Korea agreed on Friday to hold official talks with South Korea next week. The two countries agreed to discuss cooperation on the upcoming Olympics in South Korea, as well as other issues, in rare talks set to begin Tuesday (Pictured, Kim Jong-un, Monday)
North Korea agreed on Friday to hold official talks with South Korea next week, the first in more than two years and hours after Washington and Seoul delayed a military exercise amid a standoff over Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs.
North and South Korea have agreed to discuss cooperation on the upcoming Olympics in South Korea, as well as other issues, in rare talks set to begin Tuesday.
Trump suggested the talks might lead to an easing of tensions and took credit for the diplomatic breakthrough, saying it was a result of his steady pressure.
‘Look, right now they’re talking Olympics. It’s a start, it’s big start. If I weren’t involved they wouldn’t be talking at all right now,’ the president said, adding that if ‘something can come out of those talks that would be a great thing for all of humanity’.
North Korea agreed on Friday to hold official talks with South Korea next week, the first in more than two years. Trump (pictured, Friday) took credit for the diplomatic breakthrough, saying it was a result of his steady pressure
Trump said Kim (pictured, July 2017) – who’s threatened the US with a nuclear attack – ‘knows I’m not messing around, not even a little bit, not even one percent’
He said Kim – who’s threatened the US with a nuclear attack – ‘knows I’m not messing around, not even a little bit, not even one percent.’
Kim and Trump have engaged in an unprecedented war of words for months. Trump has referred to Kim as ‘little rocket man,’ ‘short and fat’ and a ‘madman,’ and threatened to wipe Kim and his country off the face of the earth if they attack the US or its allies.
Kim has responded in kind, calling Trump a ‘mentally deranged dotard (senile person),’ saying he deserved the death penalty, and vowing to annihilate the US if it attacks North Korea.