Vice President Mike Pence believes it would be “a great mistake” if North Korean leader Kim Jong Un believed he could “play” President Trump as the U.S. and the rogue regime prepare to meet in Singapore next month.
“I don’t think President Trump is thinking about public relations. He’s thinking about peace. He’s thinking about how we achieve what has eluded successive American administrations,” Pence said during an interview on Fox News when asked whether Trump was reconsidering the summit given the fallout should it not go well.
“I mean truthfully, the Clinton administration, even the Bush administration got played in the past. We offered concessions to the North Korean regime in exchange for promises to end their nuclear weapons program only to see them break those promises and abandon them. It would be a great mistake for Kim Jong Un to think he could play Donald Trump,” Pence continued.
It would be a great mistake for Kim Jong-Un to think he could play @POTUS Trump. pic.twitter.com/Q6Xo3fz5LI
— Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) May 22, 2018
The comments from Pence follow signals from Pyongyang last week that the historic meeting between Trump and Kim, set for June 12, could be in jeopardy. The North cut off communications with the South over a U.S. military training exercise and indicated it would not give up its nuclear weapons.
Pence added the White House was still open to the summit and that he remained hopeful Kim “will seize the opportunity to dismantle his nuclear weapons program and do so by peaceable means.”
“The truth is that President Trump has made it clear that this administration will not tolerate the regime in North Korea possessing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles that threaten our people, that threaten the United States of America, that threaten our allies in the region,” Pence said.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in will be at the White House Tuesday as he works with Trump to ensure the meeting takes place.
