Trump: I am sure Kim Jong-un will respect the agreement signed

The President of the United States has expressed confidence that the North Korean leader will respect the agreement for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. This statement comes after Pyongyang described recent negotiations with the U.S. Secretary of State as 'regrettable.' On July 9, Donald Trump tweeted, 'I am confident that Kim Jong-un will respect the agreement we signed, and even more importantly, [he will respect] our handshake.' Trump's reference is to the agreement for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula that he and the North Korean leader signed on June 12 in Singapore. In his tweet, the U.S. President added, 'We agreed on the denuclearization of North Korea. On the other hand, China, due to our position on trade relations, may exert negative pressures on this agreement - I hope that is not the case.' Trump's reference to his administration's stance on trade relations with Beijing pertains to the imposition of new tariffs on billions of dollars of Chinese goods, which has itself faced reciprocal reactions from China. Donald Trump claims the new tariffs are due to China's 'unfair' trade practices and 'intellectual property theft.' The U.S. trade deficit with China is about $375 billion annually. In response, China has accused the U.S. government of starting a trade war and violating international trade laws. China was an ally of North Korea during the Korean War and remains its most important ally. In recent months, the North Korean leader has visited China three times, and during his latest meeting with the Chinese President, both sides emphasized close cooperation. Trump's recent remarks came after Pyongyang expressed 'regret' over the recent negotiations between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and a senior advisor to the North Korean leader. After negotiations that concluded earlier this week, the North Korean Foreign Ministry stated, 'We expected the U.S. side to come with constructive measures to build trust in the negotiations between North Korea and the U.S. ... but the United States has made such unilateral demands regarding complete and irreversible denuclearization that contradict the spirit of the negotiations (between the leaders) of the U.S. and North Korea.' However, the North Korean Foreign Ministry did not directly criticize the U.S. President, emphasizing that Pyongyang 'maintains its full trust in President Trump.' Hours after the release of this statement, the U.S. Secretary of State, who was in Tokyo for meetings with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts, stated that the 'progress' in negotiations is 'encouraging,' but emphasized that sanctions against Pyongyang will continue until North Korea's denuclearization is completed in a verifiable and complete manner.