The president lauds Washington’s “great relationship” with Pyongyang even as North Korea casts doubt on denuclearization.
Mike Theiler/Reuters
President Trump told a crowd of supporters in West Virginia on Saturday night that he and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “fell in love” after overcoming early hostilities. “He wrote me beautiful letters and they’re great letters. We fell in love,” he said, joking that he knew he’d get flak from the press for such “unpresidential” comments. Even as North Korea cast fresh doubt on denuclearization negotiations on Saturday and lamented a lack of trust in Washington, Trump insisted, “We’re doing great with North Korea.” “We were going to war with North Korea. Millions of people would have been killed. Now we have this great relationship,” he said. Trump’s comments come after North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho told the UN General Assembly there’s “no way” Pyongyang will dismantle its nuclear program as long as it remains under U.S. sanctions. “The recent deadlock is because the U.S. relies on coercive measures which are lethal to trust-building,” Ri told the assembly. The Trump administration has previously said it will not lift sanctions until North Korea denuclearizes.
