‘You’re not ready for a deal,’ Trump tells Kim

U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly told North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the second U.S.-North Korea summit held in Hanoi, Vietnam, “You are not ready for a deal.” Despite this comment, President Trump stressed that he was on good terms with Kim, hinting intentions to continue dialogue with the North.

According to AP on Tuesday (local time), President Trump said in a speech at the spring dinner for the NRCC that the comments were made while he was taking a walk with Kim in Hanoi. “I am the first person to have talked to him like this. It was the first time in his life,” said Trump.

“Though he may not be ready, it is okay since we are on good terms. We will reach an agreement,” Trump went on, hinting the chance of holding a third summit to reach an agreement.

There are also signs within the Trump administration to rekindle the relationship. John Bolton, assistant to the president for National Security, who repeatedly stressed the importance of putting “maximum pressure” towards North Korea in three or four interviews a day after the second summit, has retreated in silence. He has not made an official statement for more than 10 days.

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has been stressing President Trump’s will to engage in dialogue with North Korea, holding several interviews. In an interview with a radio station in Pennsylvania on Monday, Pompeo said that he wishes (both heads of state) to reopen talks within a few months, suggesting the possibility of a third summit.


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