President Trump has pulled out of a historic summit in Singapore with North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un, which had been scheduled for June 12, calling it "a truly sad moment in history."
In an open letter, Trump told Kim "we greatly appreciate your time, patience, and effort with respect to our recent negotiations" and that "I was very much looking forward to being there with you," but that "it is inappropriate, at this time, to have this long-planned meeting" due to increasing tensions between the parties. A North Korean vice minister of foreign affairs called Vice President Mike Pence "ignorant" and "stupid" on Thursday for comparing North Korea to Libya, and warned Kim would cancel the summit if the U.S. didn't stop its threats.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
6 charming homes for the whimsicalFeature Featuring a 1924 factory-turned-loft in San Francisco and a home with custom murals in Yucca Valley
-
Big tech's big pivotOpinion How Silicon Valley's corporate titans learned to love Trump
-
Stacy Horn's 6 favorite works that explore the spectrum of evilFeature The author recommends works by Kazuo Ishiguro, Anthony Doerr, and more
-
Trump starts term with spate of executive ordersSpeed Read The president is rolling back many of Joe Biden's climate and immigration policies
-
Trump pardons or commutes all charged Jan. 6 riotersSpeed Read The new president pardoned roughly 1,500 criminal defendants charged with crimes related to the Capitol riot
-
Will Trump's 'madman' strategy pay off?Today's Big Question Incoming US president likes to seem unpredictable but, this time round, world leaders could be wise to his playbook
-
DeSantis appoints Florida's top lawyer to US SenateSpeed Read The state's attorney general, Ashley Moody, will replace Sen. Marco Rubio in the Senate
-
Pam Bondi downplays politics at confirmation hearingSpeed Read Trump's pick for attorney general claimed her Justice Department would not prosecute anyone for political reasons
-
Biden warns of oligarchy in farewell addressSpeed Read The president issued a stark warning about the dangers of unchecked power in the hands of the ultra-wealthy
-
Hegseth boosts hopes for confirmation amid grillingSpeed Read The Senate held confirmation hearings for Pete Hegseth, Trump's Defense Secretary nominee
-
Biden removes Cuba from terrorism blacklistSpeed read The move is likely to be reversed by the incoming Trump administration, as it was Trump who first put Cuba on the terrorism blacklist in his first term
