President Trump will know “soon” whether he will meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un next month, a topic that is likely to dominate bilateral discussions on Tuesday between the president and his South Korean counterpart.
“We’ll soon know,” Trump said, when asked by reporters at the White House if he expects to travel to Singapore for the June 12 sit-down with Kim.
Trump’s response came as he welcomed South Korean President Moon Jae-in to the White House for a series of meetings ahead of the summit. Moon held historic talks with Kim late last month at the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas, during which the two men hailed a “new era of peace” between them and committed to meeting regularly in the coming months.
But the prospect of a summit of between Trump and Kim has declined in recent days, since Pyongyang threatened to pull the plug after the U.S. resumed joined military exercises with South Korea.
North Korean officials have also criticized Trump’s national security adviser John Bolton in recent weeks over his comments about denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
The former Bush administration official had recommended applying the “Libya model” to North Korea during a Fox News appearance last month, meaning the U.S. would demand that the Kim regime turn over its nuclear weapons program and only then consider easing sanctions on the isolated nation.
“There was some talk about the Libyan model last week. As the president made clear, this will only end like the Libyan model ended if Kim Jong Un doesn’t make a deal,” Vice President Pence said in an interview with Fox News on Monday, adding confusion to the administration’s strategy.
Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi surrendered his country’s nuclear program to the U.S. in 2003, and was killed by rebel forces in 2011. It is unclear whether Trump and Pence have referred to Gaddafi’s relinquishment of his nuclear program or his subsequent assassination in their own comments about the “Libyan model” and Kim.
The uncertainty surrounding Trump’s summit with Kim multiplied over the weekend, following a New York Times report detailing the president’s lack of preparations for the meeting.
According to the Times, Trump has pressed senior aides and allies “about whether he should take the risk of proceeding,” and has refused to partake in certain briefings about the Kim regime’s nuclear capabilities.
