WASHINGTON, D.C. (NBCNC) – President Trump said he doesn’t need to “prepare very much” for next week’s North Korean summit, saying he’s already well prepared.
The president previewed the summit during an Oval Office press availability with Japan’s Prime Minister.
He said the June 12th meeting with dictator Kim Jong-un is “all ready to go” and declared the meeting’s success will depend on attitude and a “willingness to get things done.”
President Trump said the summit will be more than just a photo op and he repeated that negotiations with North Korea will be a process, not something completed in one meeting.
But the president said de-nuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is the U.S. goal and economic sanctions will remain in place.
“It looks like the meeting is set. The summit is all ready to go subject always to change. You never know in this world, subject to change. But the summit is already to go,” President Trump said. “I don’t think I have to prepare very much for the summit; very well prepared.”
A reporter asked President Trump, “What are you doing to prepare for the summit with North Korea?” The president replied, “I think I’m very well prepared. I don’t think I have to prepare very much. It’s about attitude, it’s about willingness to get things done, but I think I’ve been preparing for this summit for a long time, as has the other side, I think they’ve been preparing for a long time also. So, this isn’t a question of preparation, it’s a question of whether or not people want it to happen, and we’ll know that very quickly.”
President Trump also responded to critics who call it a “photo op,” saying, “Well it’s gonna be much more than a photo op. I think it’s a process, I’ve told you that many times before. I think it’s not a one meeting deal, it’d be wonderful if it were.
“This will not be just a photo op. This will be at a minimum, we’ll start with perhaps a good relationship and that’s something that’s very important toward the ultimate making of a deal. I’d love to say it can happen in one deal, maybe it can, they have to de-nuke. If they don’t denuclearize that will not be acceptable. We cannot take sanctions off, the sanctions are extraordinarily powerful. We cannot – and I could add a lot more, but I’ve chosen not to do that at this time, but that may happen.“
The president is scheduled to travel to Canada Friday for a two-day summit with G7 allied nations before departing for the summit in Singapore.
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