Trump-North Korea summit: World reacts as US president cancels Kim Jong-un meeting
Doubts have been building over the status of the summit for days
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Donald Trump has cancelled his planned summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, blaming increasingly hostile rhetoric from Pyongyang.
After several days during which the president appeared to be signalling that secret negotiations ahead of his planned meeting for June 12 were not going well, he said he was pulling out of the meeting because of the "tremendous anger and open hostility" in a recent statement from Mr Kim. He called it a "missed opportunity" and "truly sad moment in history."
It had been Mr Trump's ambition to securing a peace deal with North Korea - something that none of his predecessors were able to do - has now apparently been placed on the back burner.
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"I feel it is inappropriate, at this time, to have this long-planned meeting," he said in a letter to North Korea which was made public. "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."
Later, at the White House, President Trump said the US is "more ready than we have ever been before." He warned that the US, South Korea and Japan are all ready should North Korea take any "foolish and reckless acts."
"I have spoken to South Korea and Japan, and they are not only ready should foolish or reckless acts be taken by North Korea, but they are willing to shoulder much of the cost of any financial burden, any of the costs associated by the United States in operations if such an unfortunate situation is forced upon us," Trump said.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in met with his top security and other aides after the release of the letter.
Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting
Show all 25Blue House press secretary Yoon Young-chan said Mr Moon was meeting with his foreign minister, defense minister and his chief of staff, among others.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres voiced deep disappointment at the cancellation of the planned meeting. Mr Guterres, in remarks delivered at the University of Geneva, said: “I am deeply concerned by the cancellation of the planned meeting in Singapore between the President of the United States and the leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.”
He urged the parties to continue their dialogue so as to “find a path to the peaceful and verifiable denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula”.
Reuters contributed to this report
Donald Trump, speaking in the White House, is now raising the prospect of conflict. Says South Korea and Japan are willing to share the financial burden of any US military operation.
"As you know our military has recently been greatly enhanced.....Hopefully everything will work out well with North Korea."
“Our military is ready if necessary... I have also spoken to Japan and South Korea and they are ready should foolish action be taken by North Korea.”
“Hopefully positive things will be taking place with respect to the future of North Korea. But if they don't, we are more ready than we have ever been before,” he said.
He continued: “North Korea has the opportunity to end decades of poverty and oppression by following the path of denuclearisation and joining the community of nations, and I hope that Kim Jong Un will ultimately do what is right not only for himself but perhaps, most importantly, what's right for his people who are suffering greatly and needlessly.”
A prominent Russian legislator says the cancellation of the planned summit between President Donald Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong-un is a serious setback.
Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the foreign affairs committee in the upper house of the Russian parliament, is quoted by the news agency Interfax as saying: "The rejection by Trump of conducting the American-North Korean summit undoubtedly is a serious blow to peaceful settlement in the region."
He adds that "it's already the second blow, after the exit from the agreement on the Iranian nuclear program, to global stability in general."
Christine Ahn, a Korea expert and founder of Women Cross DMZ, a global movement of women that has worked for peace on the Korean peninsula, said from Seoul she was not entirely surprised by developments, given the US’s rhetoric towards North Korea.
She said she believed there were people within Mr Trump’s administration, notably figures such as national security adviser Mr Bolton, who did not want the talks to proceed. As such, he had undone much of the work done by Mike Pompeo.
“Trump has left open the door, there is still the desire there,” she told The Independent. “But he needs to start acting like a global leader and stop talking about his weapons.”
She added: “Clearly what we all want is deescalation. We need both sides to put away their differences and put decades of mistrust aside.”
South Korea's President Moon Jae-in expresses "deep regret" over the cancelled summit, according to Yonhap.
Mr Trump concluded his comments in the White House about North Korea by saying this: "Hopefully everything is going to work out well with North Korea. A lot of things can happen. Including the fact that, perhaps, it's possible the existing summit could take place or a summit at some later date."
South Korean president Moon Jae-in has issued a statement urging the North Korea-US summit to continue
Meanwhile, at the Pentagon, a spokeswoman has said the US military will continue "maximum pressure" against North Korea
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