The White House announced Thursday that no deal between the United States and North Korea was reached in Vietnam as President Trump’s second summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un was unexpectedly cut short.
“The two leaders discussed various ways to advance denuclearization and economic driven concepts,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement. “No agreement was reached at this time, but their respective teams look forward to meeting in the future.” She described the meetings between Trump and Kim, which took place Wednesday and Thursday in Hanoi, as “very good and constructive.”
Thursday’s working lunch, expected to be the culmination of talks, was canceled shortly before it was to begin, as was the signing ceremony scheduled right after. The president’s press conference slated for just before 4 p.m. local time — 4 a.m. Eastern — was pushed up to 2 p.m.
“At this time, we had some options, and we decided not to do any of the options. We’ll see where that goes,” Trump told reporters in Hanoi. “But it was a very interesting two days. And I think actually it was a very productive two days. But sometimes you have to walk. And this was just one of those times.”
A major sticking point between the United States and North Korea was the easing of sanctions, which Kim wanted lifted in their entirety, Trump said. He could not agree to that.
[Related: Trump: No urgency to secure denuclearization deal with North Korea]
“They were willing to denuke a large portion of the areas that we wanted,” the president said. “But we couldn’t give up all of the sanctions for that.”
Trump said the sanctions will remain in place and revealed that Kim promised Pyongyang would not resume its missile and nuclear testing.
“I trust him,” the president said. “And I take him at his word. I hope that’s true, but in the meantime, we’ll be talking.” He said that his relationship with Kim is “very strong.”
Trump indicated that he could have signed an agreement with North Korea at the conclusion of the summit, though the media would have been cast it as a “terrible deal.”
“But it just wasn’t appropriate,” he said. “I want to do it right rather than do it fast.”
Trump and Kim met for the first time in Singapore last June, marking the first time a sitting U.S. president sat down with the leader of North Korea.
While the president expressed optimism in the run-up to his second meeting with Kim to discuss denuclearization, he stressed Thursday morning during an expanded bilateral meeting with Kim that he was “in no rush” to push Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons program.
“Speed is not that important to me as long as there’s no testing,” the president said.
Kim, too, signaled he was hopeful for a positive outcome from the summit.
“It’s too early to tell, but I wouldn’t say I’m pessimistic,” he said through a translator in response to a question from a U.S. reporter.
When asked if he was willing to denuclearize, Kim said, “If I was not, I wouldn’t be here.”
But during that meeting, Trump also suggested negotiations would need to continue.
“I think no matter what happens, we’re going to ultimately have a deal that’s really good for Chairman Kim and his country and for us,” the president said. “That’s where it’s all leading. It doesn’t mean we’re doing it in one day or two days, but it’s all leading toward a very big success.”
The United States and North Korea had been discussing a number of measures as part of an accord, including the opening of liaison offices in both countries, closing a major nuclear facility in North Korea, reaching an agreement to end the Korean War, and easing sanctions on North Korea.
Trump confirmed he did discuss with Kim the dismantling of the Yongbyon complex, the country’s central nuclear facility, but said the North Korean leader wanted all sanctions lifted first.
“I just felt it wasn’t good,” said the president, who was joined at the press conference by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. “Mike and I spent a long time negotiating and talking about it to ourselves. That facility, while very big, it wasn’t enough to do what we were doing. We had to have more than that.”
A South Korean reporter asked Trump if he’d “be willing to strengthen the sanctions and perhaps put the pressure on North Korea to move forward.”
“I don’t want to talk about increasing sanctions, they’re strong,” Trump responded. “They have a lot of great people in North Korea, they have to live also, and that is important to me.”
While Sanders said discussions would continue, Trump told reporters he did not commit to another summit with Kim. “It might be soon, it might not be for a long time,” he said.
Playing a key role in encouraging the talks between the United States and North Korea has been South Korea, and the president said he would call South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe from Air Force One on his way back to Washington to inform them of the summit’s outcome.
“President Moon is working hard, he’d love to see a deal, and he’s been very helpful,” Trump said.
