(CNN) — North Korea says Kim Jong Un is still willing to meet Donald Trump “at any time and in any way,” after the US President abruptly canceled what would have been a historic summit between the two leaders scheduled for June.
Kim Kye Gwan, a top official at North Korea’s Foreign Ministry, said in comments published Friday by the country’s state-run news agency KCNA that Trump’s decision runs counter to the global community’s wishes for peace on the Korean Peninsula.
“We reiterate to the US that we are willing to sit face to face at any time and in any way,” said Kim, who has negotiated with US counterparts for years.
“I would like to conclude that President Trump’s statement on the North Korea-US summit is a decision that is not in line with the wishes of the who hope for the peace and stability of the Korean peninsula as well as the world.”
President Trump canceled the summit Thursday in a letter addressed to Kim Jong Un, citing recent hostile comments from top North Korean officials and concern over Pyongyang’s willingness to give up its nuclear weapons. Trump said it would be “inappropriate” to have the summit given his worries.
An open door
North Korea and the US appeared to leave the door open for talks to resume at some point.
“Our goal and will to do everything for peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and the mankind remains unchanged, and we are willing to give time and opportunity to the US, always with a big and open mind,” Kim said.
Likewise, Trump said at the White House Thursday “if and when Kim Jong Un chooses to engage in constructive dialogue and actions, I am waiting.”
Both US and North Korea have refrained from insulting the leader of each country, a remarkable departure from 2017 when Trump called Kim “little rocket man” and a “sick puppy” and North Korean state media referred to the US President as a “dotard” and a “lunatic.”
“We highly appreciated the fact that President Trump made a brave decision that no president in the past has made and put efforts to make the summit happen,” Kim Kye Gwan said in his statement.
“However, the sudden unilateral cancellation of the summit was an unexpected happening to us and we cannot help but feel very regretful.”
Nuclear sites ‘destroyed’
Trump canceled the talks just hours after North Korea detonated explosives at its Punggye-ri nuclear test site in the country’s north. International journalists, including a crew from CNN, watched as a series of explosions appeared to destroy three of four tunnels at the site — the North Koreans said the fourth tunnel, used for the country’s first nuclear test in 2006, had already been destroyed.
In the Friday statement, Kim Kim Kye Gwan said the “disgraceful” state of relations between the two countries showed how badly the summit was needed.
“Our Chairman said if he meets President Trump, he could have a good start and made every effort to prepare for this,” Kim said. He said the US administration’s “unilateral cancellation” of the summit was making Pyongyang “think again” about its recent efforts and whether “this path that we newly chose is right.”
Hopes had been high for a historic summit between the two leaders after Trump unexpectedly accepted an offer from Kim for face-to-face talks.
It would have been the first encounter between a sitting US President and North Korean leader but plans began to unravel after North Korea objected to joint US-South Korean military drills and comments from senior members of the Trump administration.
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