Donald Trump: I'd be honored to meet

Kim Jong-un under 'right circumstances'

President tells Bloomberg News he would absolutely meet North Korea leader
Sean Spicer: Clearly the conditions are not there right now

Julian Borger in Washington

Monday 1 May 2017 19.38BST

Donald Trump has said he would be honored to meet the North Korean dictator,
Kim Jong-un, under the right circumstances.

Trump did not make clear what preconditions would have to be met for such a
meeting to occur, but his administration has demanded a freeze on nuclear and long-
range missile tests as well as a readiness to negotiate North Koreas complete nuclear
disarmament.

Trump and his senior officials have also stressed that they will consider military
options for constraining Kims regime if it perseveres with testing nuclear warheads
or continues the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of
reaching the continental US.
The administration has sent an aircraft carrier and a guided missile submarine to the
region, as a sign of its resolve, though most military analysts say pre-emptive strikes
could trigger a catastrophic war.

Trump made his suggestion of talks earlier on Monday in an interview with

Bloomberg News. If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would
absolutely, he said. I would be honored to do it. If its under the right
circumstances. But I would do that.

Most political people would never say that, he added. But Im telling you under
the right circumstances I would meet with him. We have breaking news.

At Mondays White House press briefing, spokesman Sean Spicer said a lot of
conditions would have to be met before any summit meeting, and that North
Koreas provocative behaviour would have to be ratcheted down immediately.

Spicer added that Pyongyang would have to show signs of good faith and added:
Clearly the conditions are not there right now.

President Trump has made several complimentary references to Kim, describing him
in a CBS interview over the weekend as a smart cookie. Spicer also offered qualified
praise, claiming: Hes obviously managed to lead his country forward, while
noting: He is a young person to be leading a country with nuclear weapons.

In the years since the armistice ending the Korean war in 1953, there has never been
a meeting between US and North Korean leaders. In 2000, the then secretary of state
Madeleine Albright met Kims father, Kim Jong-il. There has been no high-level
contact since then.

Trump first offered to meet Kim Jong-un last June, during the election campaign, in
order to highlight his differences with Hillary Clinton.

What the hell is wrong with speaking? And you know what? Its called opening a
dialogue. Its opening a dialogue, Trump said. If he came here, Id accept him, but I
wouldnt give him a state dinner like we do for China and all these other people that
rip us off when we give them these big state dinners.

He went on to suggest he would serve Kim and other visiting leaders a hamburger
on a conference table.

Since coming to office in January, Trump has sent conflicting signals about his
administrations policy on North Korea, its readiness to use force, the culpability of
China in failing to rein Pyongyang in, and its readiness to talk directly to Kims
regime.

Last week, the secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, raised the possibility of direct talks as
long as denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula was on the agenda. Last July, the
North Korean regime declared itself in favour of that goal.
Asked for details about the exact preconditions for talks, a state department
spokesperson said by email: First and foremost these provocative tests must end.
Then we will look for other indications [North Korea] is really ready to engage.

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Topics
Donald Trump
North Korea/Asia Pacific/US foreign policy/news