World News
President Trump Cancels Face-to-Face Summit with North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un
WASHINGTON – President Trump has canceled his face-to-face summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, citing threats from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea regime.
In a letter addressed to Kim, Trump said the June 12 summit in Singapore would be “inappropriate,” pointing to “hostility” from Pyongyang in recent weeks.
“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. Therefore, please let this letter serve to represent that the Singapore summit, for the good of both parties, but to the detriment of the world, will not take place.”
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
On Thursday, Vice Minister of the North Korean Foreign Ministry, Choe Son Hui, also said that whether the U.S. “will meet us at a meeting room or encounter us at nuclear-to-nuclear showdown is entirely dependent upon the decision and behavior of the United States,” according to South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency.
Reacting to the breaking news on “America’s Newsroom,” Harvard Law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz said he would not “second-guess” Trump’s decision, adding that the president “had no choice” but to walk away from the negotiations.
“We have most of the cards and I think the president is playing them well,” he said.
Earlier this week after meeting with the president of South Korea, Trump expressed disappointment at a change in “attitude” from Kim after a recent trip to China.
The South Korean president expressed confidence in the summit, and in “the future of Kim.”
By Brook Singman