Trump says North Korea summit could still happen
Updated | By AFP
One day after abruptly pulling the plug on a high-stakes summit with North Korea, US President Donald Trump has said the meeting with Kim Jong Un could go ahead after all.
The summit will "likely" happen on the originally scheduled date of June 12.
It will be an unprecedented meeting between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader, which Washington hopes will result in the full denuclearization of the reclusive state.
Trump said in a tweet that "very productive talks" were ongoing with North Korea about reinstating the summit.
We are having very productive talks with North Korea about reinstating the Summit which, if it does happen, will likely remain in Singapore on the same date, June 12th., and, if necessary, will be extended beyond that date.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 26, 2018
On Thursday, Trump cancelled the summit that was due to take place in Singapore, blaming "tremendous anger and open hostility" from Pyongyang in recent days.
North Korea responded Friday by saying it was willing to talk to the United States "at any time" - a reaction Trump welcomed as "warm and productive."
"We're talking to them now," Trump said of the North Koreans. "They very much want to do it. We'd like to do it."
US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said there was "possibly some good news" on the summit, while White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters: "If the meeting takes place on June 12, we will be ready."
On Saturday, South Korea, which had brokered the remarkable detente between Washington and Pyongyang, cautiously welcomed Trump's latest comments.
"We find it fortunate that the embers of the North Korea-US talks are reignited. We are watching developments carefully," Presidential Blue House spokesman Kim Eui-gyeom said.
Trump's initial cancellation of the summit blindsided treaty ally Seoul, with President Moon Jae-in calling the move "shocking and very regrettable".
State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert cast the fast-moving developments as simply "twists and turns" in the process.
"We never expected it to be easy," Nauert told reporters.
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