"I read this [New York Times] story with curiosity. Neither the [National Security Council] staff nor I have discussed or heard of any desire to "settle for a nuclear freeze by [North Korea]." This was a reprehensible attempt by someone to box in the President. There should be consequences," Bolton said via Twitter.
On Sunday, the New York Times reported that the Trump administration is considering an approach that would amount to a nuclear freeze, whereby the United States would accept North Korea's status as a nuclear power in exchange for Pyongyang agreeing to not increase the number of nuclear weapons.
Also on Sunday, Trump briefly stepped over the demarcation line separating North and South Korea at the invitation of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, becoming the first US president to do so. The two leaders held an hour-long meeting inside the Freedom House on the South Korean side of the Demilitarised Zone.
The United States and South Korea have since 2018 been engaged in diplomatic efforts to convince North Korea to dismantle its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.