President Trump said Thursday that the world will know the Singapore summit went badly if he comes out talking about “maximum pressure.”
“If you hear me saying we’re going to use maximum pressure, you’ll know the negotiation did not do well, frankly,” said Mr. Trump.
The president said he stopped using the term, which refers to the severe sanctions imposed on North Korea that helped bring Kim Jong Un to the negotiating table, because he wanted to strike a more friendly tone heading into denuclearization talks Tuesday with the North Korean leader.
Mr. Trump was upbeat about the prospects for making a denuclearization deal, but stressed that he was ready to walk away from a bad deal.
“I’m totally prepared to walk away. I did it once before,” he said.
He believed the U.S.-North Korea talks would be “a terrific success or a modified success,” he said.
The president was also ready to increase sanctions if Mr. Kim refuses to give up nuclear weapons or attempts a deception, as North Korea has done in four previous denuclearization deals with past presidents.
The U.S. has not lifted any of the sanctions on North Korea, but the administration has put new sanctions on hold pending the outcome of the summit.
“We have a list of over 300 massive, in some cases, sanctions to put on North Korea, and I’ve decided to hold that until we can make a deal,” said Mr. Trump, “Because I really believe there’s a potential to make a deal. And I just don’t think it’s nice, going in under those circumstances.”
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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