Trump
remains confident Kim Jong Un will denuclearize
President Trump landed Tuesday in Vietnam for his crucial
summit with North
Korean leader Kim Jong Un -- the president's second meeting as part of
a bold push to rein in Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.
“Looking forward to a very productive Summit,” Trump
tweeted on Monday before boarding Air Force One.
Trump landed in Hanoi hours after Kim arrived by armored
train. The summit will take place later this week. Officials in Hanoi told The
Associated Press that they only had about 10 days to prepare, but promised
airtight security for the two leaders.
But the chaotic preparations included the White House
press corps being shifted to a new hotel before Kim arrived. Kim subsequently
toured parts of Hanoi, where locals stood behind barriers to catch a glimpse of
the leader of the hermit kingdom.
Trump has repeatedly hailed his meeting with Kim in
Singapore last June as a success, although there were few concrete outcomes
from the summit.
North Korea initially turned over 55 boxes of presumed
remains of U.S. soldiers killed in the Korean War as part of the agreement from
the summit, although it has not yet followed through with returning
additional remains.
North Korea also pledged to work “toward” complete
denuclearization, something critics say the communist regime has not adequately
honored either.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo this month said that he
was hoping for a “substantive step forward” but cautioned that “it may not
happen, but I hope that it will.”
"President Trump has also said this is going to take
time. There may have to be another summit. We may not get everything done this
week," Pompeo said.
Pompeo said he hoped to put a "road map" in
place, but would not discuss the possibility of declaring a formal end to the
Korean War or pulling some American troops from South Korea, in keeping with
his stand against publicly discussing the issue that could arise during the
negotiations.
But Fox News is told that the White House, State
Department, Defense Department, Treasury Department and Energy
Department are concerned about where Special Envoy to North
Korea Stephen Biegun is moving with negotiations -- and that he is "getting
too far over his skis."
One particular concern is that denuclearization, seen by
many officials as non-negotiable, has now become a negotiating item. There
is a belief among many officials that "we don't want to make a deal just
to make a deal", and that "we don't want to give away something for
nothing."
Fox News’ John Roberts, Lucas
Tomlinson, Jennifer Earl and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
