Trump, Mattis Say June 12 Summit With North Korea Could Still Happen

Trump Praises 'Very Nice Statement' From North Korea

Jason Ditz 

Posted onMay 25, 2018CategoriesNewsTagsMattis, North Korea, Trump

One day after President Trump cancelled the planned US summit with North Korea, he and Defense Secretary James Mattis are walking that back. The two now say that the summit may still take place on June 12, as scheduled.

Trump praised North Korea’s reaction to the cancellation, saying it was “a very nice statement they put out.” North Korea said they were disappointed at the cancellation but were hoping the US would change their mind about it.

Mattis said in separate comments that US diplomats are still working on a possible summit with North Korea, and said if diplomats can pull it off, the summit might still happen, either on June 12 or some future date.

The US decision to pull out of the summit took a lot of people by surprise, and led to a lot of international criticism. Trump said the cancellation was based on North Korea’s “hostility,” which mostly centered on their complaints about US war games with South Korea. South Korea had been trying to salvage the talks, and was particularly critical of the US backing out. If Trump ends up returning to the summit, it’s going to make this “cancellation” even more puzzling.

https://news.antiwar.com/2018/05/25/trump-mattis-say-june-12-summit-with-north-korea-could-still-happen/