Tag: TRUMP

Read: Text of Trump’s letter to N. Korea’s Kim

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump sent a letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Thursday announcing their planned June 12 landmark summit in Singapore would not take place. Here is a copy of the text: 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 […]

N. Korea still open to talks with US, describes US decision to cancel talks “extremely regrettable”

  SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea on Friday said it was still willing to talk to the United States after President Donald Trump cancelled a summit between the two countries, a decision Pyongyang described as “extremely regrettable”. “The abrupt announcement of the cancellation of the meeting is unexpected for us and we cannot but find it extremely regrettable,” Kim Kye Gwan, North Korea’s First Vice Foreign Minister, said in a statement carried by […]

China hopes US-N. Korea summit will happen on schedule

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP)–China hopes the historic summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will take place June 12 as planned, its top diplomat said Wednesday. “If you want to solve the moment now is the time, if you want peace now is the time, if you want to make history now is the time,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday in Washington, alongside his counterpart Mike Pompeo. […]

ZTE could face fresh $1.3 billion fine – Trump

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that as a favor to China his administration was considering a fresh set of penalties on embattled Chinese company ZTE to replace crippling sanctions imposed last month that threatened to put the firm out of business. ZTE could face a new fine of as much as $1.3 billion as well as a management shakeup and strict new rules, Trump told reporters at the White […]

Commemorative coin struck for Trump-Kim summit

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A commemorative coin featuring US President Donald Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un has been struck by the White House Communications Agency ahead of their planned summit next month. The coin depicts Trump and Kim, described as North Korea’s “Supreme Leader,” in profile facing each other in front of a background of US and North Korean flags. The words “Peace Talks” are emblazoned at the top of the front […]

Trump promises N.Korea’s Kim can stay in power

by Andrew BEATTY Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump tried to put his summit with Kim Jong Un back on track Thursday, offering the North Korean leader guarantees of staying in power if he abandons nuclear weapons. As prospects for a historic summit next month between the two leaders dimmed, Trump told reporters that if the meeting were to go ahead successfully, Kim “will get protections that will be […]

France says N.Korea must demonstrate ‘sincerity to negotiate’

PARIS, France (AFP) — North Korea must “demonstrate its sincerity to negotiate on its denuclearisation”, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Wednesday after Pyongyang threatened to cancel its summit with US President Donald Trump. “Highs and lows can come along as the recent news from the peninsula shows, but we must not lose sight of the goal,” Le Drian said during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. Referring to the “complete […]

US moving ahead with N. Korea summit prep: State Dept

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States said Tuesday it was moving ahead with preparations for a much-anticipated summit next month between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, after Pyongyang appeared to cast doubt over the event. “We will continue to plan the meeting,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters, adding that Washington had received “no notification” of a position change by North Korea. “We have not heard anything from that […]

US looking at alternative sanctions for China’s ZTE: Ross

by Heather Scott Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Monday he was looking for “alternative remedies” to replace the sanctions that forced Chinese telecoms giant ZTE to essentially cease operations. He also said he expected Chinese officials to raise the issue in talks in Washington this week on behalf of the company that was cut off from US technology products for violating US sanctions against North Korea […]

Trudeau, Trump: NAFTA talks could conclude soon

OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and US President Donald Trump discussed Monday ongoing negotiations to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement, with the White House highlighting the “importance” of reaching a quick conclusion. While Trudeau’s office mentioned the “progress” made, and the “possibility of bringing the negotiations to a prompt conclusion,” the US side was more direct. “President Trump underscored the importance of quickly concluding an agreement,” the White House […]

Neutral and stable, Singapore is natural choice for Trump-Kim

SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — With one foot in the East and one in the West, ultra-modern and secure — to the point of sometimes being mocked as dull — Singapore was a natural choice for the historic first meeting between the unpredictable leaders of the US and North Korea. The stable and squeaky-clean city-state’s tropical setting will be the backdrop for the June 12 summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un — the first […]

Historic Trump-Kim summit set for June 12 in Singapore

by Andrew Beatty Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Donald Trump on Thursday revealed his historic summit with Kim Jong Un — the first-ever between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader — will take place in Singapore on June 12. The location and date of the landmark meeting were announced in a presidential tweet just hours after Trump welcomed to the United States three American prisoners released by Pyongyang. “We will both […]