President Donald Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-un of North Korea went their separate ways today without a deal on denuclearization, and as such, much of anything else.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said that the two leaders, “had very good and constructive meetings in Hanoi, Vietnam” and that they “discussed various ways to advance denuclearization and economic driven concepts.”
“No agreement was reached at this time, but their respective teams look forward to meeting in the future,” She added.
A planned signing ceremony on Thursday was canceled after Trump and Kim left bilateral meetings two hours earlier than planned apparently due to North Korea’s requirement that the U.S. lift all sanctions and Trump’s unwillingness to do that.
“We didn’t get to something that ultimately made sense for the United States of America. I think Chairman Kim was hopeful that we would [reach an agreement]. We asked him to do more. He was unprepared to do that, but I’m still optimistic,” Pompeo said.
Trump said that “some progress has been made,” but that U.S. sanctions will remain on North Korea and that he believes the two nations will ultimately end up “very good friends.”
“Basically, they wanted the sanctions lifted immediately and we couldn’t do that. We had to walk away from that,” Trump added. “Sometimes you have to walk.”
Watch Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and President Trump relay to reporters how they meeting concluded:
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