[ad_1]
In an interview with CBS '60-minute broadcast on Sunday night, President Trump said he trusted North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to dismantle his nuclear weapons program. , attributing their privileged relationship to "good chemistry".
"I hear really well with him. I have good energy with him. I have a good chemistry with him. Look at the horrible threats that have been made. More threats. No more threats, "he told Leslie Stahl, correspondent for" 60 Minutes ".
Stahl urged Trump on his words "love" for Kim at a rally last month in Wheeling, West Virginia, citing the dictator's summary of alleged human rights violations. human rights.
Stahl asked: "He presides over a cruel kingdom of repression, gulag and famine – he has declared that he has murdered his half-brother, executed forced labor and executed publicly. That's a guy you like?
President Trump congratulates North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at their meeting at the Capella Complex on Sentosa Island on Tuesday, June 12, 2018 in Singapore.
(AP Photo / Evan Vucci)
Trump replied, "I know all these things. I mean – I'm not a baby. I know these things. … I get along well with him, okay?
Trump noted that his words "love" for Kim were only a figure of speech.
After Stahl compared the openings to a "hug," Trump replied, "That's a hug. Whether it's anything to do the job. "
Although he held a summit on denuclearization with Trump in June in Singapore, Kim still has not shown convincingly that he is ready to give up his nuclear weapons, which he might consider his greatest guarantee of survival.
Trump said their work together is already a "big success".
"The day before I arrived, we were at war with North Korea. I sat down with President Obama … and … we were going … I think it was going to end in war. And my impression is – and even in my first few months, I mean, this rhetoric was as hard as possible. It does not get any harder than that, "said the president. "Nobody has ever heard such hard speech. We were going to war with North Korea. Now you do not hear that. You do not hear about it. And (Kim) does not want to go to war, we do not want to go to war, and he understands denuclearization and he accepted it. And you see that, he accepted it. No missiles. "
The timetable for the full and final denuclearization of North Korea is not yet complete.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Kim in Pyongyang last week to hold another summit between him and Trump, after months of frantic discussions at lower-level talks, during which North Korea accused Washington of "gangster" demands for denuclearization.
Trump told Stahl that he trusted Kim, "but we'll see what happens."
"They are closing down sites," the president added when questioned that North Korea had been cleared of any weapons.
"They did not test a missile. They did not test a rocket. They certainly have not done nuclear tests because you know them very quickly. It moves the earth. And we have a relationship now, "said Trump.
While Washington feared that Pyongyang would lag behind its supposed promise of denuclearization, the international sanctions imposed by the United States on exports of petroleum products and seafood are still in effect. The resolutions that cut off all North Korean exports accounted for 90% of its trade. The sanctions are considered to be partly responsible for the thaw of relations that led to the denuclearization summit.
The president said, "It's not the Obama administration. I did not relax the sanctions. I did not do anything. I did not do anything. We are in a meeting. I believe that he likes me well. I like it. We have a good relationship. It's very important. "
Associated Press contributed to this report.
