United States President Donald Trump has called off a planned meeting on June 12 with North Korea’s leader in Singapore. In a letter, the Trump administration said the decision was based on the “tremendous anger and open hostility” in recent statements from North Korea.

A Trump administration official noted that North Korea’s vice foreign minister Choe Son Hui had insulted U.S. Vice President Mike Pence. The official called the insult the “last straw.” In his letter, President Trump called the cancellation a “missed opportunity” but left open the door to a future meeting. He wrote, “Do not hesitate to call me or write.”

Speaking later at the White House, the president called the cancellation a “setback.” He added that South Korea and Japan had been informed and supported the U.S. position. A Trump administration official said, “There is a backdoor that’s open still if the North Koreans are willing to walk through it. But it involves some changing of their rhetoric.”

North Korea had threatened to withdraw from the meeting after U.S. officials called for the country to completely dismantle its nuclear program before any concessions are made. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told the Senate Foreign Relations committee Thursday that the U.S. still seeks “complete” denuclearization of North Korea.

North Korea, however, has called for a gradual process that links some concessions to steps that lead to denuclearization.

On Tuesday, Trump met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the White House. After news of the cancellation, a spokesman for President Moon told reporters that officials were “trying to figure out what President Trump’s intention is and the exact meaning of it.”

Aliqismet BADALOV,
“Khalq qazeti”