President Trump will not sit down for talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un unless the rogue regime demonstrates “concrete steps” toward ending nuclear weapon tests, the White House said Friday.
The president on Thursday accepted Mr. Kim’s request for talks about denuclearizing the Korean peninsula, agreeing to suspend nuclear and missile tests in exchange for the historic summit.
“The president will not have the meeting without concrete steps and concrete action from North Korea,” said White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
The North Korean dictator offered the concessions after suffering sever economic sanctions by the U.S. and allies, including China, that the administration calls a “maximum pressure campaign.”
Later, Mr. Trump said that he was working on a deal to end the nuclear threat from the Hermit Kingdom.
“The deal with North Korea is very much in the making and will be, if completed, a very good one for the World. Time and place to be determined,” tweeted Mr. Trump.
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Mrs. Sanders pushed back against criticism that the summit will give Mr. Kim the respect and legitimacy on the world stage that he seeks, which is one reason previous presidents refused face-to-face talks.
“For the first time the United States is having talks from a position of strength not a position of weakness, as North Korea finds itself in because of the maximum pressure campaign,” she said.
“Let’s be very clear,” said Mrs. Sanders, “the United States has made zero concessions.”
Negotiations for when and where the summit will take place were underway, she said.
South Korean officials who announced Mr. Trump had accepted the request for direct talks said the summit would take place before May.
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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