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US President Donald Trump stands with Kim Yong Chol, former North Korean military intelligence chief and one of leader Kim Jong Un's closest aides, on the South Lawn of the White House on June 1, 2018 in Washington, DC. Both Trump and Kim Yong Chol are trying to salvage a recently canceled historic summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un scheduled for June 12. (Photo by Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images)
Announcing North Korea Summit Back On, Trump Says Letter From Kim He "Didn't Open" Is "Very Interesting"
Despite latest bizarre behavior from Trump, peace advocates call announcement "good news for diplomacy"
Jun 01, 2018
President Donald Trump's chaotic brand of internation diplomacy was back on display Friday afternoon as he announced--following an Oval Office meeting with a high-ranking North Korean official--that a summit he cancelled earlier this month between the two countries is now back on track.
"We'll be meeting June 12 in Singapore. You people will have to be in Singapore," Trump told reporters at the White House after emerging from a more than hour-long meeting with North Korea's Kim Yong Chol, a chief negotiator and top aide to the nation's leader Kim Jong-Un.
Watch:
\u201cPresident Trump on the US-North Korea summit: \u201cWell be meeting on June 12 in Singapore\u201d https://t.co/Er9B3WdDTM\u201d— CNN Politics (@CNN Politics) 1527878662
The North Korean diplomat, who had previously met with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other State Department officials on Thursday, and during Friday's meeting at the White House hand-delivered a letter from Kim that was addressed to Trump.
But Trump said some very strange things, in fact, about the letter from Kim during his interaction with the reporters.
At first Trump described the letter as "very interesting" and asked how much anyone in the scrum might offer to pay to see its contents:
\u201cPresident Trump says the letter from North Korea\u2019s Kim Jong Un is \u201ca very interesting letter\u201d https://t.co/bybhmqE0Pv\u201d— CNN Politics (@CNN Politics) 1527879457
But just minutes later he very clearly admits to the same group of reporters that he has not even opened the letter yet:
\u201cPresident Trump on letter from Kim Jong Un: "I haven't seen the letter yet. I purposely didn't open the letter. I haven't opened it. I didn't open it in front of the director." #NorthKorea\u201d— CSPAN (@CSPAN) 1527879865
As astute observers pointed out:
\u201cThe Trump era in two Reuters alerts\u201d— Daniel Dale (@Daniel Dale) 1527879224
Despite Trump's ongoing and bizarre behavior when it comes to diplomacy with North Korea, anti-war voices and experts on the Korean peninsula voiced support for the announcement that the talks appeared to be back on track.
\u201cGood news for #Diplomacy, the June 12 #NorthKoreaSummit is back on https://t.co/HK5cqDINXL via @usatoday\u201d— Peace Action - #PeopleOverPentagon (@Peace Action - #PeopleOverPentagon) 1527879905
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President Donald Trump's chaotic brand of internation diplomacy was back on display Friday afternoon as he announced--following an Oval Office meeting with a high-ranking North Korean official--that a summit he cancelled earlier this month between the two countries is now back on track.
"We'll be meeting June 12 in Singapore. You people will have to be in Singapore," Trump told reporters at the White House after emerging from a more than hour-long meeting with North Korea's Kim Yong Chol, a chief negotiator and top aide to the nation's leader Kim Jong-Un.
Watch:
\u201cPresident Trump on the US-North Korea summit: \u201cWell be meeting on June 12 in Singapore\u201d https://t.co/Er9B3WdDTM\u201d— CNN Politics (@CNN Politics) 1527878662
The North Korean diplomat, who had previously met with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other State Department officials on Thursday, and during Friday's meeting at the White House hand-delivered a letter from Kim that was addressed to Trump.
But Trump said some very strange things, in fact, about the letter from Kim during his interaction with the reporters.
At first Trump described the letter as "very interesting" and asked how much anyone in the scrum might offer to pay to see its contents:
\u201cPresident Trump says the letter from North Korea\u2019s Kim Jong Un is \u201ca very interesting letter\u201d https://t.co/bybhmqE0Pv\u201d— CNN Politics (@CNN Politics) 1527879457
But just minutes later he very clearly admits to the same group of reporters that he has not even opened the letter yet:
\u201cPresident Trump on letter from Kim Jong Un: "I haven't seen the letter yet. I purposely didn't open the letter. I haven't opened it. I didn't open it in front of the director." #NorthKorea\u201d— CSPAN (@CSPAN) 1527879865
As astute observers pointed out:
\u201cThe Trump era in two Reuters alerts\u201d— Daniel Dale (@Daniel Dale) 1527879224
Despite Trump's ongoing and bizarre behavior when it comes to diplomacy with North Korea, anti-war voices and experts on the Korean peninsula voiced support for the announcement that the talks appeared to be back on track.
\u201cGood news for #Diplomacy, the June 12 #NorthKoreaSummit is back on https://t.co/HK5cqDINXL via @usatoday\u201d— Peace Action - #PeopleOverPentagon (@Peace Action - #PeopleOverPentagon) 1527879905
President Donald Trump's chaotic brand of internation diplomacy was back on display Friday afternoon as he announced--following an Oval Office meeting with a high-ranking North Korean official--that a summit he cancelled earlier this month between the two countries is now back on track.
"We'll be meeting June 12 in Singapore. You people will have to be in Singapore," Trump told reporters at the White House after emerging from a more than hour-long meeting with North Korea's Kim Yong Chol, a chief negotiator and top aide to the nation's leader Kim Jong-Un.
Watch:
\u201cPresident Trump on the US-North Korea summit: \u201cWell be meeting on June 12 in Singapore\u201d https://t.co/Er9B3WdDTM\u201d— CNN Politics (@CNN Politics) 1527878662
The North Korean diplomat, who had previously met with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other State Department officials on Thursday, and during Friday's meeting at the White House hand-delivered a letter from Kim that was addressed to Trump.
But Trump said some very strange things, in fact, about the letter from Kim during his interaction with the reporters.
At first Trump described the letter as "very interesting" and asked how much anyone in the scrum might offer to pay to see its contents:
\u201cPresident Trump says the letter from North Korea\u2019s Kim Jong Un is \u201ca very interesting letter\u201d https://t.co/bybhmqE0Pv\u201d— CNN Politics (@CNN Politics) 1527879457
But just minutes later he very clearly admits to the same group of reporters that he has not even opened the letter yet:
\u201cPresident Trump on letter from Kim Jong Un: "I haven't seen the letter yet. I purposely didn't open the letter. I haven't opened it. I didn't open it in front of the director." #NorthKorea\u201d— CSPAN (@CSPAN) 1527879865
As astute observers pointed out:
\u201cThe Trump era in two Reuters alerts\u201d— Daniel Dale (@Daniel Dale) 1527879224
Despite Trump's ongoing and bizarre behavior when it comes to diplomacy with North Korea, anti-war voices and experts on the Korean peninsula voiced support for the announcement that the talks appeared to be back on track.
\u201cGood news for #Diplomacy, the June 12 #NorthKoreaSummit is back on https://t.co/HK5cqDINXL via @usatoday\u201d— Peace Action - #PeopleOverPentagon (@Peace Action - #PeopleOverPentagon) 1527879905
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