North Korea works to revive Trump-Kim summit
Kim Jong-un is willing to meet Donald Trump at any time as he tries to revive a leader’s summit after the President cancelled it.
Kim Jong-un says he is willing to meet Donald Trump at any time and place as North Korea tries to revive the prospect of a leader’s summit after the US President abruptly cancelled it.
The conciliatory response from Pyongyang contrasted with its strident criticism of the US only 24 hours earlier, which prompted Mr Trump to cancel the most anticipated leaders’ meeting in a generation. Mr Trump unexpectedly cancelled his June 12 summit in Singapore with North Korea’s supreme leader, blaming “tremendous anger and open hostility” towards the US.
“I was very much looking forward to being there with you,” Mr Trump said in an open letter to his North Korean counterpart, released early yesterday. “Sadly, based on the tremendous anger and open hostility displayed in your most recent statement, I feel it is inappropriate, at this time, to have this long-planned meeting.”
But North Korea responded by saying it was still willing to meet with the US President.
“We express our willingness to sit down face-to-face with the US and resolve issues any time and in any format,” Kim Kye-gwan, a senior North Korea Foreign Ministry official said.
Mr Kim called Mr Trump’s decision “unexpected” and “very regrettable”. “President Trump’s statement on the North Korea-US summit is a decision that is not in line with the wishes of those who hope for the peace and stability of the Korean peninsula as well as the world,” he said.
Mr Kim said the US’s “unilateral” decision to cancel the summit showed “how grave the status of historically deep-rooted hostile North Korea-US relations is” and how urgently a summit should be realised to improve ties.
His comments came after North Korea claimed it had destroyed its Punggye-ri nuclear test site in a move observed by international journalists on Thursday but not nuclear inspectors. The promise to destroy the site was part of efforts by Pyongyang to improve relations ahead of the summit.
Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said the news was “disappointing”, but cautioned that progress was always going to be slow towards a solution to the crisis on the Korean peninsula.
Ms Bishop warned it would be a “long drawn-out diplomatic process” to achieve a solution to North Korean aggression and to taming their nuclear ambitions.
In a day of high drama, Mr Trump cancelled the summit after a torrent of criticism from North Korea over comments made by Vice-President Mike Pence, who drew comparisons between the future of North Korea and the fate of Libya. Pyongyang labelled Mr Pence a “political dummy” and threatened a “nuclear-to-nuclear showdown” with the US as well as the cancellation of the summit. The aggressive nature of the comments led Mr Trump to call a meeting of his national security team, which led to his decision to cancel the summit.
In his letter to Kim, Mr Trump said the cancellation was for the good of both parties, “but to the detriment of the world”.
“The world and North Korea has lost a tremendous opportunity for lasting peace and great prosperity and wealth,” he wrote. “This missed opportunity is truly a sad moment in history.”
But Mr Trump held out the prospect of a future summit, saying to Mr Kim “some day I look forward very much to meeting you”. “If you change your mind having to do with this most important summit, please do not hesitate to call me or write,” he said.
The attack was the second by North Korea in a week and was the final straw for the White House. The summit had increasingly been in doubt after North Korea last week threatened to pull out over comments made by national security adviser John Bolton. Mr Bolton, like Mr Pence, had drawn comparisons between North Korea and Libya. Pyongyang did not like the comparison because Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi traded his nuclear weapons program for the lifting of sanctions in 2003 and was overthrown and killed eight years later.
A White House official blamed “a trail of broken promises” by Pyongyang. The official said the White House had sent a team to Singapore to discuss logistics for the summit with a North Korea team, but they didn’t show up.
Before North Korea’s conciliatory response, Mr Trump vowed the US was more ready than ever to deal with the North if it reacted angrily to his decision. “You talk about your nuclear capabilities, but ours are so massive and powerful and I pray to God I hope they will not have to be used,” he said.
He said South Korea and Japan were also ready to shoulder the financial burden and other costs of confrontation with North Korea “if such an unfortunate situation is forced upon us”.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in said he was “very perplexed and sorry” that the summit had been cancelled, adding that “the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and ensuring a permanent peace are historic tasks that cannot be delayed or forsaken”.
Cameron Stewart is also US contributor for Sky News Australia.
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