The meeting in Vietnam was seen as vital in reducing North Korea’s nuclear threat
Talks between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un have ended without an agreement after the US president walked out on their historic second meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam.
There had been hope that the North Korean leader would accept further attempts to denuclearise the isolated nation having held their first meeting in Singapore last year. However, this summit collapsed due to disagreements over western sanctions, according to Trump.
“It was about the sanctions basically,” the US president told reporters after the meeting. “They wanted the sanctions lifted in their entirety and we couldn’t do that.
“Sometimes you have to walk, and this was just one of those times.”
“There is a gap. We have to have sanctions. They were willing to de-nuke a large portion of the areas we wanted but we couldn’t give up all the sanctions for that.”
Following the breakdown, no plans for a third summit between the pair are currently reported to be in the works with Trump admitting they might not be “for a long time”.
That said, the president did take the time to praise the North Korean dictator’s personality, insisting that they get along very well. Which is a quite a turnaround having dubbed Kim “Rocketman” less than 18 months ago.
“We spent all day with Kim Jong-un,” Trump said. “He’s quite a guy and quite a character – and our relationship is very strong.”
Meanwhile the South Korean government, still hoping to end the 68-year war with their northern neighbours, released a statement issuing their disappointment at the lack of progress.
It read: “We do feel regret that President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-un could not reach complete agreement at today’s summit. But it also appears that they have clearly made more meaningful progress than at any time in the past.”
