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Donald Trump said he would expect to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at a second summit, "somewhere early next year," in the middle of stalled negotiations over the Pyongyang nuclear program.
The statement comes as a meeting between state secretary Mike Pompeo and top North Korean officials in New York scheduled for Thursday was canceled at the last minute, while Trump said that he "was in no hurry" to move the discussions forward.
"We will get there … another day," he told reporters in Washington. "But we are very happy with the way North Korea is going. We think it's okay. We are not in a hurry. "
Trump plans to meet Kim for the second time, after a first-ever historic summit in Singapore in June.
Despite Trump's optimistic attitude, the decision of Kim Yong-chol, former spy chief and senior adviser to Kim Jong-un, to abruptly cancel the trip seems to have taken US officials by surprise. Pompeo said the meeting would focus on a second summit "where we can make substantial progress towards denuclearization".
"North Korea does not want to waste time trading with Trump's" henchmen ", Vipin Narang, a professor of politics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, wrote on Twitter. "They just want to keep the top with him directly, where KJU has the best asset to get significant concessions directly from Trump. They are probably right.
Other observers indicated that the aborted trip was a tactic of negotiation. In August, Pompeo canceled a trip to North Korea after Trump had declared that it was unlikely that progress would be made.
"It is remarkable and disappointing that the North Korean envoy did not show up for negotiations with the United States, but it is not really surprising," said Jean Lee, head of the program on the United States. Korea at the Wilson Center wrote on Twitter. "Raising Pompeo is a trading tactic, designed to put pressure on the United States and take over."
For weeks, North Korea has complained of continued US sanctions, saying the minor concessions it has made so far should warrant fewer restrictions. But US officials have repeatedly said that sanctions would be lifted only after denuclearization.
"I would love to lift the sanctions, but they must also be responsive. It's a two-way street, "said Trump.
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