ADVERTISEMENT

Trump: We're Conducting 'Direct Talks at Very High Levels' With North Korea

April 17, 2018

President Donald Trump said Tuesday the U.S. has already conducted "direct talks at very high levels" with North Korea ahead of a planned summit with Kim Jong Un.

In March, Trump accepted an invitation, transmitted through a South Korean intermediary, from Kim to meet and discuss the possible denuclearization of his rogue regime. Trump said Tuesday at Mar-a-Lago he believes "there's a lot of good will" there.

"We've also started talking to North Korea directly. We have had direct talks at very high levels, extremely high levels, with North Korea, and I really believe there's a lot of good will," Trump said. "A lot of good things are happening ... We'll see what happens, because ultimately it's the end result that counts, not the fact that we're thinking about having a meeting or having a meeting."

Trump also cautioned that the meeting still might not occur. Critics have charged the summit will only serve to give Kim a propaganda victory by being on the same stage as the U.S. president.

The two leaders have traded barbs over the past year, with Trump branding the North Korean dictator "Rocket Man" and threatening the country with total destruction if it ever made good on its nuclear threats against the U.S. and its allies.