PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Trump said Wednesday he is prepared to leave his planned sit-down with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, with the aim of achieving denuclearization on the Korean peninsula, if he believes their meeting is unlikely to produce tangible results.
“I hope to have a very successful meeting. If we don’t think it’s going to be successful, we won’t have it,” the president said during a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Mar-a-Lago.
“If the meeting, when I’m there, is not fruitful, I will respectfully leave the meeting and continue what we’re doing,” he added.
The president also said his administration is “working diligently” ahead of the meeting with the head of the isolated regime to secure the release of three Americans currently imprisoned in Pyongyang.
“The fact is that they have three prisoners. They’ve been there a very long time. We’re fighting very diligently,” Trump said. “I think there’s a good chance we’ll do it.”
Trump confirmed earlier Wednesday that current CIA director and incoming Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Kim in person over Easter. It was not clear whether Pompeo broached the issue of American prisoners during his face-to-face meeting with the North Korean leader.
