Full Transcript of VOA Interview with Donald Trump on North Korea

Following his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, U.S. President Donald Trump emphasized in an exclusive interview with Voice of America on Tuesday, June 12, that North Korea will be "denuclearized." In the interview conducted by Greta Van Susteren in Singapore, Trump stated, "We will denuclearize North Korea... and this process will begin immediately." The full text of this interview is as follows: What surprised you about Kim Jong-un? He has an incredible personality. He is very funny, very smart, and a great negotiator. He loves his people, not that I’m surprised, but he loves his people. And I think we have started a very great agreement. We will denuclearize North Korea. This will begin quickly, and many other things will happen, including that we will recover the remains of soldiers (the remains of American soldiers from the Korean War). You know, you have been very involved in this North Korea story, but Greta, I must say that recovering these remains is important to many people. They have called me, written letters, and asked, "Can you do this?" And he has agreed to do this, thousands who died in the war, and this is very important. Well, you brought up the issue of human rights today, and how did he react? [His reaction] was very good. It is clear that we spent 90 percent of our time talking about denuclearization, but there were many other topics including human rights and the issue of recovering remains, which is also included in the document. We managed to get it into the document, and there are many good things in the document that are far beyond what anyone thought would happen. Let’s talk a little about the behind-the-scenes events. Did you give him an ultimatum? Or did he give an ultimatum? No, there was no ultimatum. We have been talking for about three months, and we did this through multiple representatives, including Mike Pompeo, the Secretary of State, who has done a great job. As a result, we had been dealing with them for a while, and when we met today, we got along from the very beginning. For me, this is the twenty-fifth hour. I have not slept for 25 hours. It was a very long and tremendous negotiation, and I am very proud of it. This is the beginning of a process that could have led to war and millions of deaths. You know that 28 million people live in Seoul, but we are reaching an agreement. What about our soldiers, will they stay in South Korea? Yes, they will stay. We did not discuss that. We will be withdrawing from military maneuvers that are very costly. Because I believe, first of all, it is very provocative and I want to do this, and I think they are very happy about it because it is very provocative. And it is very costly. And we do not want to do this, as long as we are negotiating in good faith, there will be no military maneuvers. What do you think brought Kim to the negotiating table this time after decades of bravado? Well, I think there was no bravado, just silence; they didn’t want to talk about it, and that was not the right thing to do, and you cannot do that. I think that initial tone was very important. Honestly, as much as I hated to do this, and many thought it was wrong, I think without it we wouldn’t be here. At the same time, I think he really wants to make a deal; he wants to do something. Because he knows we are serious. I don’t think he felt that way before. I think in the past, with various people, it didn’t work. But he knows we want to work seriously, we have to work seriously, and we will do it. And now that not much time has passed, and of course you know we have been very tough on North Korea from day one. But I think today we signed a document that is far beyond and bigger and more comprehensive than anyone thought. No one thought this was possible. What do you think he will think about you after leaving here? I think he liked me, I liked him. I understand the past, and no one should tell me he is a tough guy. He must be a tough guy or has been a tough guy. But I think we got along very well. He is smart, loves his people, and loves his country. He wants very good things to happen, and that’s why he is doing this. But he has given them famine and hunger, treated them brutally, and still loves his people? Look, he has done what he has seen done. I have to act based on today, yesterday, and the past few weeks because this process has started in this era. Again, I say, without the tone and without sanctions—sanctions were very important—sanctions will remain until we see what will happen; this will happen. We are almost seeing that it will be like this, but until denuclearization begins, they will remain. This interview is with Voice of America, and the people of North Korea will also hear this interview. Would you like to say anything directly to the citizens of North Korea? Well, you have someone who feels very good about you. He wants to do the right thing for them, and we got along very well. There was a good feeling between us, and you know how important that feeling is to me. It is very important. I mean, there are some who no matter what you do, that feeling will not be there. From the very beginning, there was this feeling between us; I talked about it, and I think very good things will happen for North Korea. Mr. President, I am glad to meet you again, this time much farther from Washington. That’s right, it has been a long time. Finally, it’s time for me to go and sleep. You know, get some rest. Certainly. Safe travels. Thank you, Greta, it was my honor.