US President Donald Trump says there is a "substantial chance" his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will not take place as planned on June 12, amid concerns that Kim is resistant to giving up his nuclear weapons.
Trump raised doubts about the Singapore summit in talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who came to Washington to urge Trump not to let a rare opportunity with reclusive North Korea slip away.
If the summit is called off or fails, it would be a major blow to what Trump supporters hope will be the biggest diplomatic achievement of his presidency, and a huge disappointment for the president himself.
"There's a very substantial chance ... it won't work out. And that's OK," Trump told reporters.
"That doesn't mean it won't work out over a period of time. But it may not work out for June 12. But there is a good chance that we'll have the meeting."
Trump said whether the meeting will be held as scheduled will be determined "pretty soon."
Trump's Oval Office remarks were the strongest sign from him yet about the possibility of a delay or cancellation of what would be the first-ever summit between the leaders of the United States and North Korea.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo later told reporters the Trump administration was still planning for a June 12 summit.
It was unclear whether Trump was truly backing away from the summit or whether he was strategically coaxing North Korea to the table.
The original purpose of Trump and Moon's meeting was to fine-tune a joint strategy for dealing with Kim. Instead it has become more of a crisis session after Pyongyang last week threatened to pull out of the planned summit.
The White House was caught off guard when, in a dramatic change of tone, North Korea condemned the latest US-South Korean air combat drills, suspended North-South talks and threw into doubt the summit with Trump if Pyongyang was pushed toward "unilateral nuclear abandonment."
Aides say Trump has privately been wondering whether Kim is serious about the summit after the abrupt change in tone.
Moon told Trump in their private talks that there was no need to doubt North Korea's will to hold a summit, a South Korean government spokesman told reporters. But US officials have privately expressed concern that Moon, eager to make progress with the North, may have overstated Kim's willingness to negotiate in good faith over the dismantling of his nuclear arsenal.
Trump on Tuesday reiterated comments from last week, saying Kim's safety would be guaranteed and his country would be rich if he denuclearised.
But Trump said there are certain conditions that must be met and if North Korea refuses, the meeting will not take place.
Trump also reiterated his suggestion that Kim's recent meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping had influenced Kim to harden his stance ahead of the summit.
"President Xi is a world-class poker player," he said.
China's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that China hopes the planned US-North Korea summit can proceed smoothly.
Australian Associated Press
