Trump: ‘Who knows?’ if meeting with Kim Jong Un will happen

World Today

FILES-COMBO-US-DIPLOMACY-NKOREA-NUCLEAR-TRUMPA file picture from DPRK’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) taken on December 23, 2017 showing leader Kim Jong-Un during the 5th Conference of the Workers’ Party of Korea, and a file picture showing US President Donald Trump looking on during the National Prayer Breakfast at a hotel in Washington, DC on February 8, 2018. (AFP PHOTO/KCNA VIA KNS AND AFP PHOTO / STR)

Washington will be closely watching as the South Korean and DPRK leaders meet in the Korean DMZ. The summit is expected to have an impact on a proposed meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and the DPRK’s Kim Jong Un.

CGTN White House Correspondent Nathan King reports.

No date has been set for the Trump-Kim meeting, though officials appear to be aiming for May or June. If the two leaders get together, it would be the first time the heads of state for the U.S. and DPRK have ever met.

Whether it will indeed take place, however, is still a matter of speculation. Speaking on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends” Thursday morning, President Trump said he was ready to walk away if need be.

“It could be that I walk out quickly. With respect, but it could be,” he told the hosts. “It could be that maybe the meeting doesn’t even take place. Who knows?”

Trump also slammed his predecessor, saying that he was not like former President Barack Obama, and that former Secretary of State John Kerry was the “worst negotiator” he’s ever seen.

A potential obstacle standing in the way of any deal between the U.S. and DPRK is how each side understands “denuclearization.” While Washington wants Pyongyang to give up its entire nuclear weapons arsenal, the DPRK may not be willing to immediately dismantle its program.

Meanwhile, the White House and Downing Street confirmed Trump will travel to the U.K. in July and meet with British Prime Minister Theresa May. The trip will be a “working visit,” which falls short of a full-fledged state visit.

The two leaders have met several times in the past, including at the White House.

Trump was previously scheduled to travel to the UK earlier this year, but cancelled the trip after outcry and protests over his re-tweeting of far-right group Britain First. The president and London Mayor Sadiq Khan – who is a Muslim –have also had public disagreements over Trump’s attitude towards racial and religious minorities.