May 22, 2018
Fuller comments from POTUS and Moon in the Oval Office:
POTUS said he would talk to Moon about trade and expects some "pretty good news" on trade.
"North Korea is the big one no matter how big trade is…The big topic will be Singapore and the meeting. We'll see what happens, whether or not it happens. If it does, it will be a great thing for North Korea and if it doesn't, that's okay too. Whatever it is, it is."
POTUS said he would spend a good amount of time with Moon but then later said it would be a quick meeting.
Moon spoke Korean and his remarks were translated into English. He offered condolences for the Texas high school shooting, praised POTUS for the prisoners who were released from North Korea and pledged to help negotiate a deal with North Korea.
POTUS and Moon lavished praise on each other numerous times.
Question on Kim and the summit:
POTUS said he does think Kim is serious about denucleaization. "I do think he's serious. I do think he'd like to see that happen." POTUS said he has "strong opinions" on the subject of denuclearitzation,
About the summit, he said, "We're moving along. We'll see what happens. There are certain conditions we want to happen. I think we'll get those conditions. And if we don't, we won't have the meeting. Frankly, it has the chance to be a great great meeting for North Korea and a great meeting for the world. If it doesn't happen, maybe it will happen later. Maybe it will happen at a different time. We will see. We are talking."
"North Korea has a chance to be a great country and it can't be a country under these circumstances they are living right now…I think they should seize the opportunity."
POTUS declined to say whether he trusts Kim but said so far, its a relationship that seems to be working.
In response to a question, POTUS said there was no deal about ZTE. He said the media misreported stories about ZTE, but went out of his way to say he did not blame the reporters. "There is no deal. We will see what happens."
Spotted in the Oval Office Chief of Staff John Kelly standing near the desk and National Security Adviser John Bolton who was leaning against a wall behind the two chairs were the leaders sat.
You may remember that the last time Moon visited the White House on June 30, 2017 (when coincidentally I was also your pooler) POTUS was visibly irritated when a lot of jostling by a large contingent of Korean media led a lamp to be knocked off a table in the Oval Office. (Aide Keith Schiller caught it before it fell.) There was nothing like that time.
More to come.
–
Anita Kumar