At a press conference in Hanoi on Thursday, after a summit with North Korea ended abruptly, President Trump said he and Kim Jong Un had a "very productive two days" but "sometimes you have to walk." He said the talks fell apart because "basically, they wanted the sanctions lifted in their entirety," but they would not agree to enough on denuclearization. "I want to take off the sanctions so badly," because North Korea has such "unbelievable potential," Trump said.
Trump said Kim was willing to dismantle the Yongbyon nuclear facility for a full removal of sanctions, and that wasn't enough. "We asked him to do more, he was unprepared to do that," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said. Fox News host Sean Hannity asked Trump if walking away was "mostly your decision," but Trump didn't bite. "I don't want to say that it was my decision," he said. "I want to keep the relationship. ... We could have [signed a deal], I just didn't feel it was very appropriate." Trump wouldn't say if he is demanding total denuclearization from Kim, saying only, "We want a lot to be given up."
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.
-
Today's political cartoons - December 22, 2024Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - the long and short of it, trigger finger, and more
-
5 hilariously spirited cartoons about the spirit of ChristmasCartoons Artists take on excuses, pardons, and more
-
Inside the house of AssadThe Explainer Bashar al-Assad and his father, Hafez, ruled Syria for more than half a century but how did one family achieve and maintain power?
-
Putin says Russia isn't weakened by Syria setbackSpeed Read Russia had been one of the key backers of Syria's ousted Assad regime
-
Georgia DA Fani Willis removed from Trump caseSpeed Read Willis had been prosecuting the election interference case against the president-elect
-
Democrats blame 'President Musk' for looming shutdownSpeed Read The House of Representatives rejected a spending package that would've funding the government into 2025
-
Trump, Musk sink spending bill, teeing up shutdownSpeed Read House Republicans abandoned the bill at the behest of the two men
-
Congress reaches spending deal to avert shutdownSpeed Read The bill would fund the government through March 14, 2025
-
Luigi Mangione charged with murder, terrorismSpeed Read Magnione is accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson
-
Ex-FBI informant pleads guilty to lying about BidensSpeed Read Alexander Smirnov claimed that President Joe Biden and his son Hunter were involved in a bribery scheme with Ukrainian energy company Burisma
-
South Korea impeaches president, eyes chargesSpeed Read Yoon Suk Yeol faces investigations on potential insurrection and abuse of power charges
