World

Trump Insists on Denuclearization Amid Threat of Kim Talks Being Canceled

US President Donald Trump stated that it was not clear whether the planned summit between him and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un would still take place, but vowed to insist on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
Sputnik

"We'll have to see," the president told reporters, answering the question whether the meeting with Kim was still on.

Trump noted that North Korea had not notified the US about the cancellation of the Washington-Pyongyang summit slated for June 12.

"No decision, we haven't been notified at all. … We haven't seen anything, we haven't heard anything," he said.

Earlier in the day, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said that Trump's administration was still hopeful that the Singapore summit between the US president and North Korean leader would go ahead as planned on June 12.

READ MORE: US-S Korea Drills Seek to Sabotage Pyongyang-Seoul Peace — Russian Lawmaker

Seoul Regrets Pyongyang's Decision to Suspend High Level Inter-Korean Talks
The upcoming historic US-DPRK summit was jeopardized after media reported that Pyongyang threatened to suspend talks with South Korea scheduled for May 16 over ongoing joint military drills being conducted by Seoul and Washington. Despite North Korea's warning, Seoul said that it would continue its joint military exercise with Washington.

Meanwhile, Pyongyang stressed that it was not interested in unilateral demands from the US on denuclearization and would negotiate with Trump only if he is seeking to improve bilateral relations.

Discuss