Trump Meets With South Korea President Moon Jae-in Over North Korea Summit
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WASHINGTON (CBSMiami) – South Korea's president met with President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday.
The two leaders discussed the planned summit between Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.
South Korean president Moon Jae-in expressed optimism about the historic summit but Trump seemed ready to pump the brakes.
"The meeting is scheduled as you know on June 12th in Singapore," Trump said. "Whether or not it happens, you'll be knowing pretty soon but we're talking right now."
North Korea raised the prospect of cancelling the summit over objections to joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises, and remarks made by National Security Advisor John Bolton when he compared Trump's plan to the Libya model.
"I think we're looking at the Libya model of 2003, 2004," Bolton said late last month. "We're also looking at what North Korea itself had committed to previously."
Libya's government collapsed eight years later after giving up its nuclear weapons and leader Moammar Gaddafi was overthrown.
President Trump says the U.S. will not go after Kim Jong-un if he agrees to a deal.
"He will be safe," Trump said. "He will be happy. His country will be rich."
Trump also said he believes North Korea's attitude towards a meeting changed after Kim Jong-un met with China's president for a second time earlier this month.
"The first time everybody knew about," Trump said. "The second time was like a surprise. And I think things changed after that meeting so I can't say that I'm happy about it."
The U.S. plans to keep up all economic and military pressure on Pyonyang.
On Tuesday the USS Milius, an advanced guided missile destroyer, arrived in Japan to protect against any ballistic missile attacks by North Korea.
Trump has said he is willing to give Kim Jong-un assurances the U.S. will not overthrow his government if it agrees to a deal.