President Donald Trump said the "best thing" North Korea dictator Kim Jong Un could do was make a deal with the United States over its nuclear program, predicting Thursday he would be "very happy" if he did.
North Korea has threatened to pull out of a planned June 12 summit between Kim Jong Un and Trump, saying it has no interest in a "one-sided" agreement in which it abandons its nuclear weapons program. The rogue regime reportedly took issue with National Security Adviser John Bolton's remarks about following the "Libyan model" of disarmament during the George W. Bush administration.
Trump said that type of model wasn't being considered during remarks in the Oval Office, saying the U.S. "decimated" Libya at the time and didn't offer protection or military strength to Muammar Gaddafi.
"If we make a deal, I think Kim Jong Un is going to be very, very happy," Trump said. "I really believe he's going to be very happy."
"We're willing to do a lot, and he's willing to, I think, do a lot, also," Trump added. "I think we'll actually have a good relationship, assuming we have the meeting and assuming something comes of it. He'll get protections that would be very strong."
Trump wouldn't say if he considered reducing U.S. troop levels in South Korea, but he said Kim would have "very adequate protection."
"The best thing he could ever do is to make a deal," he said.
Trump previously stated full denuclearization to him meant "they get rid of their nukes." Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said North Korea would have sanctions relief "if we get denuclearization."