President Trump’s abrupt decision Thursday to abort a summit next month with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un left the White House scrambling to explain the outcome to allies amid fears that the collapse of talks would mean a return to heightened tensions between nuclear powers in East Asia.
Trump announced he was pulling out of the planned meeting in Singapore on June 12 in a letter to Kim that came less than 12 hours after a North Korean official had personally disparaged Vice President Pence and warned of a nuclear showdown if the United States did not alter its tone ahead of the summit.
In a missive that aides said the president dictated, Trump was by turns regretful of the missed opportunity and adamant that he would not tolerate the “tremendous anger and open hostility” from North Korea. The president pointedly warned Kim that he oversees a nuclear weapons arsenal that is “so massive and powerful that I pray to God they will never have to be used.”
Trump’s aim was to remind the young dictator “of the real balance of power,” a senior White House official told reporters. “The president’s overarching goal isn’t a meeting. It’s always been the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. He will never compromise the safety and security of the United States and its allies.”
Trump announced he was pulling out of the planned meeting in Singapore on June 12 in a letter to Kim that came less than 12 hours after a North Korean official had personally disparaged Vice President Pence and warned of a nuclear showdown if the United States did not alter its tone ahead of the summit.
In a missive that aides said the president dictated, Trump was by turns regretful of the missed opportunity and adamant that he would not tolerate the “tremendous anger and open hostility” from North Korea. The president pointedly warned Kim that he oversees a nuclear weapons arsenal that is “so massive and powerful that I pray to God they will never have to be used.”
Trump’s aim was to remind the young dictator “of the real balance of power,” a senior White House official told reporters. “The president’s overarching goal isn’t a meeting. It’s always been the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. He will never compromise the safety and security of the United States and its allies.”
