WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump said he doesn't have to prepare for next week's historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the manner of his predecessors, who relied on hours of briefings and guidance from experienced National Security Council staffers.
"I think I'm very well prepared," Trump said Thursday at the outset of an Oval Office meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
"I don't think I have to prepare very much. It's about attitude," Trump said. "I think I've been prepared for this summit for a long time, as has the other side."
Trump, who cautioned that the summit scheduled for Tuesday in Singapore could still fall through, told reporters that the meeting "will not be just a photo-op" but also said, as he has repeatedly in the last week, that it's likely just the first of several meetings with the North Korean leader.
The president, who is scheduled to take more questions alongside Abe in the Rose Garden later in the day, said he's unlikely to lift sanctions on North Korea right away. He put the onus on Kim to give ground on his country's advancing nuclear weapons program.
"They have to de-nuke," Trump said.
Trump has not convened his National Security Council to advise him on the sit-down with North Korea, according to multiple West Wing officials. Although John Bolton, his national security adviser, is attending the summit, Trump is relying heavily on Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who has met twice with Kim, and _ above all _ on his own instincts, a point he has emphasized in public comments and private conversations with aides.
