North Korea: We Still Want to Hold a Meeting Between Trump and Kim

On Friday, June 4, North Korea reacted to the cancellation of the planned meeting between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un by the U.S. President, stating that Pyongyang still desires to hold a meeting between the two leaders. Donald Trump announced in a letter to Kim Jong-un on Thursday that the scheduled summit in Singapore on June 12 had been canceled. Trump cited 'open hostility and blatant anger' in North Korea's recent statements as the reason for the cancellation. Meanwhile, Kim Gye-gwan, North Korea's Deputy Foreign Minister, called the U.S. President's decision to cancel the summit 'unexpected' and expressed regret over the action. According to the official North Korean news agency, Kim Gye-gwan reiterated their willingness to meet face-to-face to resolve issues at any time and in any format. The cancellation of the meeting came on the same day North Korea announced the destruction of its only nuclear test site. In recent days, the verbal conflict between the U.S. and North Korea had intensified, especially following comments made by John Bolton, the White House National Security Advisor. On May 23, Bolton stated in a television interview that the North Korean disarmament model could resemble the 'Libya model' of 2003. Muammar Gaddafi voluntarily halted his initial nuclear program in 2003 and was exempted from sanctions. However, Gaddafi's regime was attacked by a NATO coalition in 2011 following public protests, and he was ultimately killed by his opponents. Subsequently, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence stated that if Kim Jong-un does not agree, he will face the same fate as Gaddafi. Pence also warned that if Kim thinks he can play Trump, he is making a big mistake. These remarks provoked a strong reaction from North Korea, with Choe Son-hui, North Korea's Deputy Foreign Minister, sharply criticizing them.