In a letter addressed to Kim Jong Un, President Donald Trump announced he is canceling peace talks in Singapore which could have led to North Korean denuclearization.
"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," the president wrote after condemning the North Korean leader for his "tremendous anger and "open hostility."
The North Korean Central News Agency had previously reported that the country had no interest in the summit with the United States if the president demanded that North Korea shut down its nuclear program.
The White House remained silent on that development for a full day before White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters that North Korea's reversal was something the White House "fully expected."
The full text––as well as a copy––of the letter is below:
Dear Mr. Chairman,We greatly appreciate your time, patience, and effort with respect to our recent negotiations and discussions relative to a summit long sought by both parties, which was scheduled to take place on June 12 in Singapore. We were informed that the meeting was requested by North Korea, but that to us is totally irrelevant. I was very much looking forward to being there with you. Sadly, based on the tremendous anger and open hostility displayed in your most recent statement, I feel it is inappropriate, at this time, to have this long-planned meeting. Therefore, please let this letter serve to represent that the Singapore summit, for the good of both parties, but to the detriment of the world, will not take place. 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.
I felt a wonderful dialogue was building up between you and me, and ultimately, it is only that dialogue that matters. Some day, I look very much forward to meeting you. In the meantime, I want to thank you for the release of the hostages who are now home with their families. That was a beautiful gesture and was very much appreciated.
If you change your mind having to do with this most important summit, please do not hesitate to call me or write. The world, and North Korea in particular, has lost a great opportunity for lasting peace and great prosperity and wealth. This missed opportunity is a truly sad moment in history.
The president also posted his letter on Twitter.
"Sadly, I was forced to cancel the Summit Meeting in Singapore with Kim Jong Un," he wrote.
The summit cancellation appears to put an end to a push by Republicans to award Trump a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in negotiating the summit, which would have been the first meeting between an American president and a North Korean leader. Many mocked the president for writing what they said sounded like a "break up letter" to Kim Jong Un.
Political advocate Amy Siskind wrote that the letter sounded like one written by "a scorned lover."
"I heard this letter from Trump to Kim Jong Un being read by [Secretary of State Mike] Pompeo, while I was driving. I have to say the words that stuck out: ‘wonderful,’ ‘beautiful’ – before the threat to blow North Korea to pieces – it sounded like a scorned lover sending a break-up letter,” she said.
Others suggested Trump continued to stand by the meeting––despite North Korea's cancelation last week––because he wanted to win a Nobel Prize, and mocked for him and his supporters for that, too.
"Trump is right to walk away from the summit; he never should have accepted it. But it's odd to see people who wanted to give him the Nobel Prize a couple weeks ago now hailing this move as a diplomatic masterstroke," wrote Stephen Hayes, the Editor-in-Chief of The Weekly Standard.
Bill Kristol, The Weekly Standard's Editor-at-Large, shared similar sentiments.
"Trump supporters yesterday: Trump’s amazing! No other president could have pulled off a summit with Kim Jong Un. Trump supporters today: Trump’s amazing! No other president could have cancelled a summit with Kim Jong Un," he wrote.
"Trump wants a Nobel Peace Prize so badly that he tripped heads over heels trying to appease Kim Jong Un and have a grandiose summit in Singapore,” said surgeon Eugene Gu, who notes in his Twitter bio that his tweets have been blocked by the president. "But real peace takes hard work, negotiation, and judgment. Trump only knows how to play golf and make coins for cancelled summits."
What the summit's cancelation signals for U.S.-North Korean relations remains to be seen. The president feued with Kim Jong Un earlier this earlier, threatening him with “fire and fury” and taunting the North over “whose nuclear button is bigger and whose is more powerful.”
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