Trump ‘Very Happy’ with North Korea Nuclear Weapons Talks   

Trump 'Very Happy' with North Korea Nuclear Weapons Talks

WASHINGTON —

U.S. President Donald Trump declared Monday that he is “very happy” with the pace of ongoing negotiations with North Korea to end Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program, rebuffing news accounts to the contrary.

“A Rocket has not been launched by North Korea in 9 months. Likewise, no Nuclear Tests. Japan is happy, all of Asia is happy,” Trump said on Twitter. “But the Fake News is saying, without ever asking me (always anonymous sources), that I am angry because it is not going fast enough. Wrong, very happy!”

A day after his Singapore summit last month with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un calling for the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, Trump said in a tweet, “There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea.”

But their agreement contained no details about when or how North Korea would abandon its nuclear weapons program or shut down its existing nuclear facilities. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met in Pyongyang recently with North Korean officials to try advance discussions, but there appeared to be little progress. Some diplomats say the North Koreans have canceled meetings and failed to maintain basic communications with the U.S.

As he did Monday, Trump has publicly professed satisfaction at the pace of negotiations with North Korea, saying last week there was “no rush” in completing talks with Pyongyang because U.S. and United Nations economic sanctions against North Korea remain in place.

On Monday, the U.S. State, Treasury and Homeland Security departments said, “The international community cannot let up on pressure” until North Korea ends its nuclear weapons program.

Trump said last week that U.S. relations with North Korea “are very good and the process is moving along.” He said that with eventual denuclearization, there would be “big benefits and exciting future for North Korea at end of process!”

But several news outlets have reported in recent days that behind the scenes at the White House Trump has voiced his displeasure to aides at the pace of talks in pushing North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program.

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