Currents News Staff
President Trump is on his way back to Washington from Hanoi, without a deal.
“I think actually it was a very productive two days. But sometimes you have to walk,” said Trump.
The second summit between the two leaders in less than a year still aimed at convincing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to abandon his nuclear program.
Top advisers to the President were said to have warned him that the North Koreans would be unyielding on the topic of the sanctions that severely restrict their trade.
The President thought he could make more progress face to face with Kim but in the end, said he didn’t want to make a bad deal.
“They wanted the sanctions lifted in their entirety, and we couldn’t do that. They were willing to denuke a large portion of the areas that we wanted. But we couldn’t give up all of the sanctions for that,” said Trump.
There is no third summit set. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said both sides need some time to regroup but the summit and weeks of work by each side ahead of it showed some signs of progress.
“We made real progress. And indeed, we made even more progress when the two leaders say down over the last 24, 36 hours. Unfortunately, we didn’t get all the way. We didn’t get to something that ultimately made sense for the United States of America,” said Pompeo.
President Trump spoke with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-In after leaving the summit. Both urged continued discussions.