Trump cancels North Korean summit, citing ‘tremendous anger’

A man walks past a TV broadcasting a news report on the dismantling of the Punggye-ri nuclear testing site, in Seoul, South Korea, on May 24, 2018. (Reuters)

President Donald Trump canceled the planned June 12 summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un Thursday, citing the “tremendous anger and open hostility” in a recent statement from the North.

Trump said in a letter to Kim released by the White House that based on the statement, he felt it was “inappropriate, at this time, to have this long-planned meeting.” He added that the North Koreans talk about their nuclear capabilities, “but ours are so massive and powerful that I pray to God they will never have to be used.”

A letter from the President to Chairman Kim Jong Un: "It is inappropriate, at this time, to have this long-planned meeting." pic.twitter.com/3dDIp55xu1

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 24, 2018

The North Korean statement that he referred to called Vice President Mike Pence a “political dummy” for his comments on the North and said North Korea is just as ready to meet the US in a nuclear confrontation as at the negotiating table

Trump said in his letter that the world is losing a “great opportunity for lasting peace and great prosperity and wealth” now that their summit has been canceled.

TRT World‘s White House correspondent Tetiana Anderson has more from Washington DC.

The president agreed to the historic sit-down in March after months of trading insults and nuclear threats with the North Korean leader. But after criticism from North Korea, Trump cast doubt this week on whether the meeting would happen.

TRT World‘s Oliver Whitfield-Miocic weighs in on Trump’s decision to cancel the talks from the South Korean capital Seoul.

Source: AP