Trump-Kim summit ends abruptly with no deal

U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Thursday wrapped up their second summit early after failing to reach an agreement. Kim insisted that the United States lift all the sanctions it imposed on North Korea while only promising to close some nuclear sites, Trump said in a news conference following the talks in Hanoi, Vietnam. Kim appeared willing to shut down secret facilities outside of Yongbyon and its missile and warheads program, but the country would still have other missiles, warheads, and weapons systems. “Sometimes you have to walk,” Trump said. “I’d much rather do it right than fast.”

The two leaders initially expressed hope the summit would yield results. Ahead of the talks, Kim said he was open to denuclearizing, saying, “If I’m not willing to do that, I won’t be here right now.” The United States repeatedly insisted on complete denuclearization as a requirement for lifting its sanctions on North Korea.

Trump said the summit ended on a good note but there are no plans for a third meeting. He also said he believed Kim’s claim that he had nothing to do with the 2017 death of Otto Warmbier, an American college student who died after being held in a North Korean prison. “I don’t believe that he would have allowed that to happen,” Trump said. “He felt badly about it.”