SINGAPORE (AP) - President Donald Trump is defending his repeated praise of North Korea’s Kim Jong Un during their meetings in spite of Kim’s distressing record on human rights.
Trump told reporters at a press conference in Singapore on Tuesday that Kim “is very talented.” He pointed to Kim’s rise to power at a relatively young age.
Trump has appeared largely unconcerned about the implications of feting an authoritarian leader suspected of ordering the public assassination of his half brother with a nerve agent, executing his uncle by firing squad and killing U.S. college student Otto Warmbier.
But Trump says without Warmbier’s death, his meeting with Kim may not have happened. He says, “Otto did not die in vain.”
Trump says human rights did come up during the talks, albeit briefly.
Trump says he believes Kim wants to do the right thing.
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