President Trump said Tuesday that North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un has been “very open and very honorable” in advance of talks on giving up his nuclear weapons.

It was the most respectful description yet of a man that Mr. Trump previously derided as “little rocket man.”

“He really has been very open and I think very honorable from everything we’re seeing,” Mr. Trump said of Mr. Kim as he opened a bilateral meeting at the White House with French officials. “Now a lot of promises have been made by North Korea over the years, but they have never been in this position.”

Mr. Trump has agreed to a historic summit with Mr. Kim, whose secretive regime has developed nuclear weapons and long-range missile with which to threaten the U.S. and the world.

The Trump administration’s maximum-pressure campaign of severe sanctions and diplomatic penalties helped force Mr. Kim to the negotiating table, but North Korea has a history of breaking agreements after getting what it wants.

“We have been told directly that they would like to have the meeting as soon as possible. We think that’s a great thing for the world,” Mr. Trump said. “”We’ll see where that will all go.”

The president repeated that he was willing to walk away from talks that are not fruitful.

“Unlike past administrations, I will leave the table,” he said. “But I think we have the chance to do something very special.”

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