WASHINGTON _ In a dramatic diplomatic setback, President Donald Trump abruptly pulled out of his scheduled nuclear summit with North Korean leader Kim Jung Un on Thursday with a letter to Kim _ seemingly sent via Twitter _ blaming recent harsh statements from officials in Pyongyang.
The U.S. pullout comes two days after Trump signaled for the first time that his demands for a quick denuclearization of North Korea was probably impossible to achieve, and that any possible deal with Kim almost certainly would require negotiated phases with reciprocal U.S. concessions.
That set the stage for a less-than-clear diplomatic success at the planned June 12 summit in Singapore, one that might embarrass the White House. It wasn't clear if the withdrawal signaled an end or just a pause to the possibility of nuclear negotiations directly between the two mercurial leaders who seemingly want to talk.
In his letter to Kim, addressed as "Dear Mr. Chairman," Trump called the summit "inappropriate at this time" given the "tremendous anger and open hostility displayed" by Pyongyang.
He did not cite specifics, but a high-ranking North Korean official earlier Thursday called Vice President Mike Pence "ignorant and stupid" after Pence raised the prospect that North Korea could meet a similar fate as Libya in its path to denuclearization. The official also suggested that North Korea was as prepared for a nuclear exchange as it was for the negotiating table.
Trump urged Kim to "call me or write" if he changed his mind, although it was Trump who pulled out of the meeting. The one-page letter was gracious, but Trump added a veiled threat about a possible conflict with the reclusive nuclear-armed nation.
"You talk about your nuclear capabilities, but ours are so massive and powerful that I pray to God they never have to be used," Trump wrote.
Trump's cancellation comes after several days of escalating rhetoric from Pyongyang that appeared to threaten a diplomatic breakthrough in the nuclear impasse. It wasn't clear if Kim was getting cold feet about the much-anticipated meeting and was seeking a way out, or was just testing Trump to see how far he would go.
It also comes just two days after South Korean President Moon Jae-in met with Trump at the White House in an effort to keep the scheduled meeting on track.
There were some signs that Trump, who agreed almost immediately to the summit in March when Kim first suggested it, had begun looking for a way out.
In his Oval Office meeting with Moon and other scattered public comments over the last 48 hours, Trump had hinted that the summit was up in the air, saying several times, "We'll see what happens."
While the president is publicly blaming Kim for his decision to scuttle the summit, some national security aides had privately expressed concerns that the U.S. delegation and specifically the president himself were unprepared for the talks.
In recent weeks, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo flew twice to Pyongyang to meet with Kim and secured the release of three Americans who were held by North Korea. It wasn't clear if he and Kim made progress on the outlines of an agreement under which North Korea would halt or scale back its nuclear weapons program.
Republican allies of the administration were quick to praise Trump's decision to pull out as wise.
"North Korea has a long history of demanding concessions merely to negotiate. While past administrations of both parties have fallen for this ruse, I commend the president for seeing through Kim Jong Un's fraud," said Sen. Tom Cotton, (R-Ark.). "As I have long said, our maximum-pressure campaign on North Korea must continue."
In his letter to Kim, Trump left the door open to future dialogue and possibly a face-to-face meeting.
"I felt a wonderful dialogue was building up between you and me and, ultimately, it is the only dialogue that matters," Trump wrote. "Some day I look very much forward to meeting you. In the meantime, I want to thank you for the release of the hostages who are now home with their families. That was a beautiful gesture and is very much appreciated."
"If you change your mind having to do with this most important summit, please do not hesitate to call me or write. The world, North Korea in particular, has lost a great opportunity for lasting peace and great prosperity and wealth. The missed opportunity is truly a sad moment in history."
