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US President Donald Trump (right) answers reporters’ questions at the White House after meeting with Kim Yong-chol, North Korea’s vice chairman of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) and director of the WPK United Front Department on June 1. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (left) listens as Trump speaks. (UPI)
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If the talks do not go well, “I am totally prepared to walk away”
US President Donald Trump said he might invite North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to the White House if the two leaders’ summit goes well. He also hinted that he could sign a formal declaration of the end of the Korean War. Trump made the remarks during a press conference following his summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Washington on June 7. When asked whether he would invite Kim to the US if the talks go well, Trump said, “If [the summit] goes well [. . .] I think [an invitation] would be well received. I think [Kim] would look at it very favorably.” In regard to where Kim would be invited to visit, Trump said, “Maybe we’ll start with the White House.” Responding to a question about formally ending the Korean War, Trump said, “We could sign an agreement [during the North Korea-US summit]. [. . .] That’s really the beginning. Sounds a little bit strange, but that’s probably the easy part; the hard part remains after that.” As for normalizing North Korea-US relations, Trump said, “Normalizing relations is something that I would expect to do. [. . .] I know that Prime Minister Abe and President Moon [Jae-in] have told me, very strongly, that they are going to go and they will help them economically, tremendously.” This indicates that Trump wants South Korea, Japan and China to provide economic assistance to North Korea. Trump also once again said that he could leave the meeting room if the talks do not go well. “I am totally prepared to walk away,” Trump said in a remark calculated to put pressure on North Korea. While Trump emphasized that his summit with Kim was not merely a photo op, he also tried to lower expectations by saying “I don’t think it will be in one meeting.” Trump also described the letter he received from Kim: “It was really a very warm letter, a very nice letter. [. . .] And nothing other than: We look forward to seeing you, and we look forward to the summit.” As for the issue of the Japanese abductees, which Abe has asked to be included on the agenda of the Trump-Kim summit, Trump said that “[Abe] talked about [the abductee issue] long and hard and passionately. [. . .] We will be discussing that with North Korea, absolutely.” Trump also reiterated that he would rather not use the term “maximum pressure” about North Korea any more. “We don’t use the term anymore because we’re going into a friendly negotiation,” he explained. “Maximum pressure” on North Korea is the North Korean policy that the Abe administration has long advocated. But since Trump recently said he preferred not to use the term “maximum pressure,” the Japanese government has stopped using the term almost entirely. “Japan and the United States are always together. [. . .] Japan will continue to ask for complete implementation of the successive United Nations Security Council resolutions [sanctions on North Korea],” Abe said. Since Trump stopped using the word “pressure,” Abe has been using the word “sanctions” instead. By Cho Ki-weon, Tokyo correspondent Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
