President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter: "The work I am doing now should have been done a long time ago!" | Nicholas Kamm/Getty Images Trump tempers expectations on North Korea

President Donald Trump cautioned Sunday against any sweeping declarations on how his administration's policy with North Korea will turn out, saying "only time will tell."

"We are a long way from conclusion on North Korea, maybe things will work out, and maybe they won’t - only time will tell," the president wrote on Twitter. ".... But the work I am doing now should have been done a long time ago!"


Trump and his administration are preparing for a possible historic meeting between the president and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in late May or June. Last week, media reports revealed — and the president subsequently confirmed — that CIA Director Mike Pompeo, Trump’s pick to be his next secretary of state, met secretly with Kim around the beginning of April.

In a sign of possible things to come, North Korea announced Friday that it is immediately halting nuclear and missile tests, but experts say the toughest obstacles to a peace deal remain.

The president attacked "Meet the Press" moderator Chuck Todd for his coverage of the run-up to the talks — the second time in as many days that Trump personally attacked a journalist.

"Sleepy Eyes Chuck Todd of Fake News NBC just stated that we have given up so much in our negotiations with North Korea, and they have given up nothing," Trump wrote on Twitter. "Wow, we haven’t given up anything & they have agreed to denuclearization (so great for World), site closure, & no more testing!"

Trump appears to be responding to an appearancece by Todd on NBC's "Today" show on which the Sunday show host previewed what was to come. NBC's Hallie Jackson asked Todd for his analysis on what the U.S. is gaining for North Korea's apparent concessions.

"Look, the tone in itself, obviously is a positive development ... but I have to tell you, there are a lot of people asking, there are not many preconditions that the United States is asking for," Todd told Jackson, according to video of their exchange. "So far, the North Koreans have gotten a lot out of this potential summit. What has the United States gotten out of it? We don't have release of those Americans that they've held captive. We don't have a pledge of denuclearization as the ultimate goal."