A day after meeting with the leader of South Korea, President Donald Trump told reporters that a final decision should be made next week about a scheduled June 12 summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, a meeting which has suddenly been surrounded by questions about what the Pyongyang regime will give up on its nuclear weapons program.
"It could happen," the President said. "Some day a date could happen, it could very well be June 12th."
"We will know next week," Mr. Trump added, as preparations for the summit continue, without any clear indication of what concessions the North Koreans might make in any meeting with the President in Singapore.
On Tuesday, Mr. Trump seemed to back away from his bottom line demand that North Korea give up its nuclear weapons program as part of any agreement.
"It would certainly be better if it were all in one," the President said when asked about immediate denuclearization by the North Koreans, which had seemingly been the requirement for any summit meeting with the North Korean leader.
Earlier in the day on Capitol Hill, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told lawmakers that the summit was a "generational opportunity to resolve a major national security challenge," when it comes to North Korea.
"Our eyes are still wide open," Pompeo acknowledged, as there are many lawmakers in both parties in Congress who are worried that little may be achieved in a summit, especially after signals from the Kim government that it was not willing to summarily end its nuclear weapons program.
At the hearing, lawmakers pressed Pompeo for more on the summit - the Secretary of State simply said the U.S. stands ready to talk, and now it will be up to the North Koreans.
"I'm very hopeful that meeting will take place," Pompeo said at a House hearing.
About the Author
