Washington (CNN) In an Oval Office meeting with his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in, President Donald Trump said Thursday that he wants sanctions on North Korea to remain in place but doesn't want to increase them.

"I think the sanctions right now are at a level that's a fair level," Trump said. "We want sanctions to remain in place, and frankly I had the option of significantly increasing them."

"I didn't want to do that because of my relationship with Kim Jong Un. I didn't want to do that, I didn't think it was necessary, as you know a couple of weeks ago I held it back," he added, again touting his personal connection with the North Korean leader.

Trump's mention of holding back on increasing sanctions appeared to be a reference to a tweet he sent last month saying he was withdrawing new measures aimed at North Korea that were just issued by his own administration.

The tweet triggered confusion among his own aides and administration officials who were unsure what sanctions Trump was referring to and what the policy implications of the announcement might be.

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