Trump Card: North Korea Restates Desire for Talks After Trump Cancels Summit

This is how "Peace Through Strength" works!

Obama Secretary of State John Kerry was so desperate for a deal with Iran that he would do anything to keep negotiations going. The Iranians knew that too and so got a deal where they got $150 billion up front and promptly used the money to increase military spending by 145% and fuel another round of terrorism and war throughout the Middle East.  History will show Trump was right to cancel that reincarnation of Neville Chamberlain and Munich.

When President Trump began talking about a summit with North Korea the same pro-Kerry partisans who swallowed the Kool Aid on the phony Iran deal began attacking Trump for being naive; even reckless.  But Trump quickly made it known he wasn't prepared for another foolish round of "peace at any price."  As the historic summit between leaders of North and South Korea concluded, Trump said that he would meet with North Korean Leader Kim Jung Un at the earliest possible moment if conditions warranted. If not, he would walk away.

While there was plenty of hope for a breakthrough after the North-South summit there also the reminder that North Korea had made peace overtures before only to backtrack. Which is what happened over the past weeks. North Korea suspended talks with South Korea, objected to U.S. and South Korean military exercises that Kim had previously said were acceptable.  In the past week, talks about talks ground to a halt as North Korea skipped a vital meeting in Singapore and stopped answering their phone.  U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told a Senate hearing we got "a lot of dial tones" when trying to contact the North.

After strong statements from National Security Adviser John Bolton and Vice President Mike Pence reiterating that nuclear disarmament is an absolute must for negotiations the official North Korean Foreign Ministry web site ran a statement by Choe Son Hui, vice-minister of Foreign Affairs of the DPRK calling Pence a "political dummy" and "stupid." The official went on to threaten a "nuclear to nuclear showdown:"

[W]e can also make the U.S. taste an appalling tragedy it has neither experienced nor even imagined up to now.

Before making such reckless threatening remarks without knowing exactly who he is facing, Pence should have seriously considered the terrible consequences of his words.

It is the U.S. who has asked for dialogue, but now it is misleading the public opinion as if we have invited them to sit with us. I only wonder what is the ulterior motive behind its move and what is it the U.S. has calculated to gain from that.

We will neither beg the U.S. for dialogue nor take the trouble to persuade them if they do not want to sit together with us.

Whether the U.S. will meet us at a meeting room or encounter us at nuclear-to-nuclear showdown is entirely dependent upon the decision and behavior of the United States.

That threatening statement caused Trump to cancel the summit in the following letter issued on Thursday:

Click here for full size image.

24 Hours Later North Korea backs down

On Friday North Korea followed their Thursday bluster with a statement from a higher ranking official, the first vice-minister:

The historic summit is now high on the agenda between the DPRK and the U.S., and the preparations for it are being pushed forward at the final stage amid the remarkably great concern of the world.
...
As far as the historic DPRK-U.S. summit is concerned, we have inwardly highly appreciated President Trump for having made the bold decision, which any other U.S. presidents dared not, and made efforts for such a crucial event as the summit.
...
We would like to make known to the U.S. side once again that we have the intent to sit with the U.S. side to solve problem regardless of ways at any time.

Trump: We're Talking Again

No threats of nuclear Armageddon this time, but repeated appeals to continue planning for the meeting. And suddenly, the phone calls are being answered in the North. A report by the Washington Times:

“We’re talking to them now,” Mr. Trump told reporters at the White House. “They very much want to do it. We’d like to do it. We’ll see what happens.”

The White House even left open the possibility Friday of dispatching a summit planning team to Singapore if the meeting is rescheduled.

“There are still a few hours left to decide,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters. “If it takes place on June 12, we’ll be ready. If it takes place on July 12, we’ll be ready.”

In response to a reporter's question Trump added: “Everybody plays games. You know that better than anybody.” Not sure if Trump was speaking to a CNN reporter.

Democrats who pounced on Trump for cancelling the meeting (1,2) may soon be eating their words.

North Korea may change it's mind again and restart the bluster that caused the summit to falter. But one thing is clear, Trump will not be changing his mind just to get a deal. America and the world will be better off as a result!

UPDATE: It's official. Summit back on!

We are having very productive talks with North Korea about reinstating the Summit which, if it does happen, will likely remain in Singapore on the same date, June 12th., and, if necessary, will be extended beyond that date.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 26, 2018

UPDATE 2: North Korea's Kim Meets South Korea's Moon and affirms commitment to summit and “complete denuclearization” of the Korean Peninsula.

Waiting for the Trump haters to apologize.....