United States President Donald Trump and the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ended the summit with no agreement, the White House announced.
“No agreement was reached at this time, but their respective teams look forward to meeting in the future,” White house spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a statement.
There had been some expectation the pair would announce an agreement on the thorny issue of nuclear disarmament.
Donald Trump-Kim Jong-un talks end 'without agreement'" class="wp-image-29867" srcset="https://backend.reportfocusnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/donaldtrumpkim.jpg 1920w, https://backend.reportfocusnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/donaldtrumpkim-600x360.jpg 600w, https://backend.reportfocusnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/donaldtrumpkim-300x180.jpg 300w, https://backend.reportfocusnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/donaldtrumpkim-768x461.jpg 768w, https://backend.reportfocusnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/donaldtrumpkim-700x420.jpg 700w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" />Mr Kim had said his presence indicated his willingness to denuclearise.
“If I’m not willing to do that, I wouldn’t be here right now,” he told reporters earlier on Thursday. “That might be the best answer you’ve ever heard,” Mr Trump replied.
Washington had previously said North Korea must unilaterally give up its nuclear weapons before there could be any sanctions relief, but that condition was known to be a sticking point for the North Koreans.
Speaking ahead of their talks, president Donald Trump appeared to again address scepticism about the success and progress of their last summit in Singapore, saying he wanted to get the “right deal”.
“I’ve been saying very much from the beginning that speed is not that important to me. I very much appreciate no testing of nuclear rockets, missiles, any of it,” Mr Trump said, adding that he had “great respect” for Mr Kim Jong Un.
