File Picture Courtesy : The Asian Age
US President Donald Trump has said that the much hyped summit scheduled with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on June 12 in Singapore has been cancelled. In a letter to Kim, Trump said he made the decision based on the “tremendous anger and open hostility” in a recent North Korean statement.
Meanwhile , North Korea has said that it is ready to sit down for talks with Washington anytime to solve problems between them, after the US side cancelled a planned summit with Pyongyang.
The North Korean side expressed regret over US President Donald Trump’s decision to cancel the summit with Kim Jong Un, previously scheduled for June 12 in Singapore, First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan was quoted by Xinhua as saying.
Kim Kye Gwan also said that Trump’s decision does not conform to the international community’s aspiration for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the whole world.
The meeting, which would have marked the first face-to-face encounter between a sitting US President and a North Korean leader, was set for June 12.
I have decided to terminate the planned Summit in Singapore on June 12th. While many things can happen and a great opportunity lies ahead potentially, I believe that this is a tremendous setback for North Korea and indeed a setback for the world… pic.twitter.com/jT0GfxT0Lc
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 24, 2018
The news came as North Korea made a show of dismantling a nuclear test site, but also on the heels of some sharp words from the North Korean government about America’s denuclearization demands.
North Korea had abruptly cancelled talks with South Korea out of anger over joint military tests with the US in the Korean peninsula.
While Trump had repeatedly played up the historic significance of the meeting, he also often leavened his optimism with a cautious “we’ll see”.
Much of the letter was written in conciliatory terms, including praise for North Korea’s recent release of three American prisoners, Trump also appeared to issue a threat that conjured memories of his war of words with Kim last year.
Sadly, I was forced to cancel the Summit Meeting in Singapore with Kim Jong Un. pic.twitter.com/rLwXxBxFKx
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 24, 2018
“You talk about your nuclear capabilities, but ours are so massive and powerful that I pray to God they will never have to be used,” Trump wrote in the letter tweeted by White House.
Trump left the door open for arranging a new meeting with Kim.
“If you change your mind having to do with this most important summit, please do not hesitate to call me or write,” the President wrote. “This missed opportunity is a truly sad moment in history.”
Trump said it would be “inappropriate” to hold the summit as scheduled in Singapore, adding he was very much looking forward to meeting him “some day”.
