“Everybody plays games,” US President Donald Trump said on Friday, suggesting that the potentially historic North Korean summit he had suddenly called off might be getting back on track, as South Korean President Moon Jae-in yesterday met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to discuss the possible summit.
Moon and Kim met just north of the heavily militarized border in the afternoon to exchange views to pave way for the summit, South Korea’s presidential office said.
It was the second inter-Korean summit in as many months.
Photo: AFP
His sights set on a meeting that has raised hopes for a halt in North Korea’s nuclear weapons development, Trump welcomed the North’s conciliatory response to his Thursday letter withdrawing from the summit with Kim.
Rekindling hopes as quickly as he had doused them, Trump said it was even possible the meeting could take place on the originally planned June 12 date.
“They very much want to do it; we’d like to do it,” he said.
The sweetening tone was just the latest change in a roller-coaster game of brinkmanship about talks with two unpredictable world leaders trading threats and blandishments.
On Thursday, White House officials had said that Trump had left the door open with a letter to Kim that blamed “tremendous anger and open hostility” by Pyongyang, but also urged Kim to call him.
By Friday, North Korea issued a statement saying it was still “willing to give the US time and opportunities” to reconsider talks “at any time, at any format.”
Trump rapidly tweeted that the statement was “very good news” and told reporters that “we’re talking to them now.”
Confident in his negotiation skills, Trump views the meeting as a legacy-defining opportunity and has relished the press attention.
He made a quick decision to accept the sit-down in March, over the concerns of many top aides, and has remained committed, even amid rising concerns about the challenges he faces in securing a positive agreement.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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