Second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un cut short without agreement
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
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| Trump and Kim greet each other before having dinner together on February 27. It was the first time they had seen each other since their previous summit in June.
Evan Vucci/AP
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| Kim and Trump are joined by translators as they meet at the start of the summit's second day. Kim told the reporters there that many people had been "skeptical" about the two leaders meeting. "I'm sure all of them will be watching the moment we are sitting together, side by side, as if they are watching a fantasy movie," he said.
Evan Vucci/AP
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| The two leaders sit for dinner at the Hotel Metropole Hanoi on February 27. The men were joined by interpreters and a few associates, including US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, far right. "Nothing like having a nice private dinner," Trump joked as a limited pool of reporters took photos.
Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
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Trump arrives in Hanoi for second summit with Kim Jong-un
VietPress USA (Feb. 27, 2019): ABC News reported that the second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un was cut short without any Agreement.
2:18 a.m. (EST) – Trump explains North Korea summit ending without an agreement: ‘Sometimes you have to walk’
At a press conference prior to his departure from Hanoi, Trump explained why his second summit with Kim resulted in no signed agreement between the two countries as previously planned.
"We thought, and I thought, and Secretary Pompeo felt that it wasn't a good thing to be signing anything," Trump said. "Sometimes you have to walk. This was just one of those times."
Pompeo went on to explain that Kim was "unprepared" to go as far in the agreement as the U.S. had wanted, but that negotiating teams would continue to convene in the "days and weeks ahead" to resolve their differences.
Trump acknowledged the break down was due to North Korea’s demands that sanctions be lifted in exchange for steps towards denuclearization, which would amount to a departure from longstanding U.S. policy that no sanctions be lifted before North Korea completely dismantles its nuclear program.
"It was about the sanctions," Trump said. "Basically they wanted the sanctions lifted in their entirety and we couldn't do that."
1:40 a.m. (EST) - White House says 'no agreement' reached between Trump and Kim as talks are cut short
Trump has returned to his hotel after negotiations with Kim were cut short. The White House announced that "no agreement" was reached between the two leaders despite "very good and constructive meetings."
"The two leaders discussed various ways to advance denuclearization and economic driven concepts," Sanders said in a statement. "No agreement was reached at this time, but their respective teams look forward to meeting in the future."
Earlier in Hanoi, Trump touts rapport with North Korea's Kim at summit, 'satisfied' with talks, but now Trump said "Sometimes you have to walk. This was just one of those times.".
Read this report from Reuters on Yahoo News at:
https://news.yahoo.com/trump-says-friend-kim-great-opportunity-second-summit-024339087.html?.tsrc=bell-brknews
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Trump touts rapport with North Korea's Kim at summit, 'satisfied' with talks
By Jeff Mason and Soyoung Kim
HANOI (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump hailed "a very special relationship" with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as they met in Vietnam for a second summit on Wednesday and said he was satisfied with the pace of denuclearization talks despite some criticism they were not moving quickly enough.
The U.S. president appeared upbeat with Kim even as on the other side of the world in Washington his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen called Trump a "conman" who knew in advance about the release of stolen emails aimed at hurting his Democratic rival in the 2016 election campaign.
"Great meetings" and a "Very good dialogue," Trump said on Twitter after dinner with Kim at Hanoi's French-colonial-era Metropole hotel while the White House said the two planned to sign a "joint agreement" after further talks on Thursday.
Facing increasing political and legal pressure at home over investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, Trump has devoted significant time and effort to trying to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons in exchange for promises of peace and development, a foreign policy goal that has confounded multiple predecessors.
The Hanoi meeting was Trump's second meeting with Kim in eight months and he appeared to reiterate recent statements that he was in no rush.
"We had a very successful first summit," he told Kim. "I felt it was very successful, and some people would like to see it go quicker; I’m satisfied; you’re satisfied, we want to be happy with what we're doing."
Asked by a reporter if he was "walking back" on denuclearization demands, Trump said "no".
Trump and Kim held a 20-minute, one-on-one chat before they sat down to dinner with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Trump's acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, Kim's top envoy Kim Yong Chol and North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho.
On Thursday, the two leaders are scheduled for a series of meetings at the Metropole, beginning with another one-on-one session lasting 45 minutes, the White House said.
The two leaders would hold a "joint agreement signing ceremony," at the end of the meetings, which would be followed by a news conference by Trump at 3:50 p.m. Hanoi time (0850 GMT).
The White House has given no indication as to what the signing ceremony might involve, although the two sides have held discussions that have included the possibility of a political statement to declare the 1950-53 Korean War over, which some critics say would be premature.
Asked if he would declare a formal end to the Korean War, which concluded with an armistice, not a peace treaty that North Korea has long sought, Trump said: “We’ll see.”
Their summit in Singapore in June was the first meeting between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader and ended with fanfare but little substance.
Trump and Kim pledged to work toward denuclearization and permanent peace on the Korean peninsula, but there has been little progress since. Kim said they had overcome obstacles to meet a second time and praised Trump for his "courageous decision" to begin a dialogue.
"Now that we're meeting here again like this, I'm confident that there will be an excellent outcome that everyone welcomes, and I'll do my best to make it happen," Kim said.
"We’re going to have a very busy day tomorrow,” a smiling, relaxed-looking Trump, said seated beside Kim at a round dinner table with the other four officials and two interpreters.
"Our relationship is a very special relationship."
Observers said the pair were at pains to show their relationship had improved since June, with their body language closely mirroring each other.
LEVERAGE
Trump said late last year he and Kim "fell in love", but whether the bonhomie can move them beyond summit pageantry to substantive progress on eliminating a North Korean nuclear arsenal that threatens the United States is the big question.
Trump indicated a more flexible stance in the run-up to Hanoi, saying he was in no rush on denuclearization as long as North Korea, which has not tested a nuclear weapon or intercontinental ballistic missile since 2017, maintained that freeze.
Trump risks squandering vital leverage if he gives away too much, too quickly, critics said.
Evans Revere, a former U.S. negotiator with North Korea, said Trump was under pressure given his domestic problems and "Kim may be tempted to push Trump even harder for concessions, knowing how much the president wants and needs that testing pause."
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