President Trump has cancelled his upcoming meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The president issued a news letter yesterday, citing tremendous anger and open hostility as the reason. The meeting was set to take place in Singapore June 12 and the key issue that was expected to be discussed was North Korea's nuclear weapon development. In his letter, Mr Trump states that he was very much looking forward to the meeting but due to North Korea's recent anger and hostility, feels that it is inappropriate to go ahead with the meeting. According to CBS News, the president is referring to North Korea's reaction to vice-president Mike Pence's comments that he made during an interview with Fox News.
In the interview, Mr. Pence compared North Korea's potential fate to those of Muammar el-Quaddafi, the former Libyan leader. He gave up his nuclear program in the hopes of staving off Western intervention but was later killed after being weakened in a military actions by the United States and it's European allies. Mr Pence's comments were not well received by the North Koreans. Choe Son Hui, North Korea's vice-minister of foreign affairs, said that his comments were "ignorant and stupid," and that North Korea "would not beg for dialogue," with Washington D.C.
Astonishing development raises questions
In his letter, Mr Trump says the meeting could still take place if Mr Jong-Un changes his mind.
However, he warns him not to commit any "foolish act." The events leading up to this have had many people scratching their heads. Mr Trump stunned the world when he agreed to meet Mr Jong-Un in what was expected to be an unprecedented encounter. The two countries have no official relations and have often acted hostile towards each other in the past.
In April 2018, The North Korean leader met with the president of South Korea, a historic event, in an effort to soften the communications between the two countries. And this month, a commemorative coin was minted by the White House Military Office that was suppose to mark the significance of the consequential moment in history, should the meeting go well.
But doubts have been rising on both sides recently. Many feared the offer to meet was simply a trap laid out by the North Koreans. The CIA Director Mike Pompeo tried to put those worries to rest, saying America was fully aware of the risks that came with Trump visiting Pyongyang.
Uncertainty of what will happen next
It is unclear as to what will happen as a result of this latest development. Analysts have warned that despite their promises, North Korea will not fully give up on its nuclear program, something that the US has put as a primary condition for the meeting. According to the Washington Post, North Korea has demolished their nuclear test site. However, many were not convinced, as no foreign press was invited to witness the event.
And it is said to be unlikely that North Korea will do much more to meet the demands of the US, who insists that North Korea was not responding sufficiently to the summit preparations, so the BBC reports. In Mr Trump's letter, he also said, "You talk about your nuclear capabilities, but ours are so massive and powerful that I pray to God they will never have to be used." Prior to this latest development, both Mr Trump and Mr Jong-Un had exchanged some insults and threats involving the use of nuclear weapons and many fear that Trump may have simply added fuel to the fire.
