Trump says his 'friend' Kim Jong Un could turn North Korea into the next Vietnam


A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Ahead of his summit in Hanoi with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, President Trump tweeted on Tuesday night that his "friend" just needs to agree to denuclearize, and his country could prosper.
"Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth," he said. "North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearize. The potential is AWESOME, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong Un. We will know fairly soon — Very Interesting!"
He followed with a second tweet criticizing Democrats, saying they need to "stop talking about what I should do with North Korea and ask themselves instead why they didn't do 'it' during eight years of the Obama Administration?" Trump and Kim met for the first time last year in Singapore, and Trump has touted that summit and steps he says have been made toward denuclearization. Satellite images show, however, that there are at least 20 secret missile bases in North Korea.
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.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
What to know when filing a hurricane insurance claim
The Explainer A step-by-step to figure out what insurance will cover and what else you can do beyond filing a claim
By Becca Stanek Published
-
How fees impact your investment portfolio — and how to save on them
The Explainer Even seemingly small fees can take a big bite out of returns
By Becca Stanek Published
-
Enemy without
Cartoons
By The Week Staff Published
-
Rishi Sunak lambasts China after allegations of spy in UK Parliament
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Judge denies Mark Meadows' request to move Georgia case to federal court
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson dies at 75
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Clarence Thomas officially discloses trips from billionaire GOP donor
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Judge schedules Trump federal election plot trial for crowded March 2024
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Trump surrenders in Georgia election subversion case
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin ally-turned-rival, presumed dead in plane crash
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Mar-a-Lago IT director flipped on Trump after dropping Trump-linked lawyer, special counsel says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published