Trump teases that summit with Kim may be back on ‘We’re talking to them now,’ the president says about the North Koreans, one day after dramatically calling off his meeting with Kim Jong Un.

President Donald Trump and his aides are hinting that his historic sit-down with Kim Jong Un may still happen, just one day after Trump sent a blunt letter to the North Korean leader calling it off.

In showman style, Trump on Friday teased at the idea of another stunning reversal, saying, “We’re talking to them now,” and that “It could even be the twelfth," referring to the original plan for the summit — June 12 in Singapore.


“The White House pre-advance team for Singapore will leave as scheduled in order to prepare should the summit take place,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on Saturday, according to pool reports.

On Saturday, Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in met unexpectedly for the second time in a month, according to the Associated Press.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis was also coy but suggested that summit planning is progressing. "We have got some, possibly some good news on the Korea summit, where it may, if our diplomats can pull it off, may have it back on even," Mattis told reporters. "Our president just sent out a note about that a few moments ago ... That is a usual give-and-take, you know, of trying to put together big summits and stuff."

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders added to the fodder, telling reporters Friday it's "certainly a possibility" the summit will take place as previously planned. And as of Friday morning, an advance team of about 30 White House staffers and State Department officials was still planning to leave for a logistics meeting Southeast Asia on Sunday, according to two people familiar with the planning.

But it remains unclear whether the president, who has yet to shore up a definitive commitment from North Korea to completely denuclearize, will live up to his self-touted reputation as deal-closer and finalize plans with Kim.

In Trump's letter to Kim and in statements from his top aides, the White House has framed the potential summit as a boost for Kim and his country, with Sanders saying it would "be great for the world and certainly would be good for North Korea." But the president holds his own stake in the discussions, which could reap a sizable victory for him on the global stage.

For months, Trump has closed in on solidifying the landmark gathering, which allies have argued would put him in contention for a Nobel Peace Prize. The recent cancellation and a deterioration in dialogue between the U.S. and North Korea, however, has prompted Democratic and foreign officials to question whether Trump will be capable of converting on such sensitive diplomatic efforts.

“The art of diplomacy is a lot harder than the art of the deal,“ Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, tweeted Thursday after Trump pulled out of plans for the June meeting. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a frequent target of criticism for the president, said "many" were concerned that talks between Trump and Kim would amount to "great show that produced nothing enduring."

South Korean President Moon, a key partner in negotiations with Kim, said he was "perplexed" on Thursday after Trump scrapped plans for the summit, which the three countries have been inching toward for months. All three leaders are deeply tied to the negotiations, and Trump's decision to halt plans for direct talks appeared to deal a blow to their desires to each land a major foreign policy coup.

State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert alluded to the volatile nature of the high-stakes negotiations on Friday.

"We always knew there would be twists and turns leading up to this meeting on June 12," she said, according to a press pool report. "We never expected it to be easy, so none of this comes as a surprise to us."

Nauert said she was unaware of any direct communications with North Korea since their statement overnight, but that department officials "hope that the meeting will go forward at some point."

Trump first broached the topic of rewarming relations on Twitter earlier Friday, writing that he welcomed North Korea's decision to voice a willingness to reenter into dialogue. One day after calling off the meeting — and warning the North Korean dictator about the United States’ formidable nuclear arsenal — Trump took a more conciliatory tone, saying that further discussions could lead to “enduring prosperity and peace.”

“Very good news to receive the warm and productive statement from North Korea,” Trump tweeted. “We will soon see where it will lead, hopefully to long and enduring prosperity and peace. Only time (and talent) will tell!”

Kim Kye Gwan, first vice minister of foreign affairs, issued a statement earlier on Friday saying North Korea was “willing to give the U.S. time and opportunities” to reconsider talks. He added that his country’s “objective and resolve to do our best for the sake of peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and all humankind remain unchanged.”

The statement brought a reprieve to the escalating public rhetoric from the two countries, which over the past few days took on a more aggressive tone as North Korean officials floated withdrawing from the historic summit and backed off assurances to discuss denuclearization with the U.S.

Trump on Thursday canceled the highly anticipated meeting with Kim, citing “tremendous anger and open hostility” from North Korea in a letter addressed to Kim and released by the White House.

The reversal followed a warning from North Korean vice minister of foreign affairs Choe Son Hui overnight Wednesday that Pyongyang could “make the U.S. taste an appalling tragedy it has neither experienced nor even imagined.” The foreign official, in a dramatic break with the diplomatic tenure of prior talks with U.S. officials, said that if talks were canceled, the two countries could instead engage in a “nuclear-to-nuclear showdown.”

Despite pulling out of the summit in response to the remarks, the president maintained in the letter to Kim and during a later televised address that he would be open to reentering talks with Kim and potentially rescheduling the summit.

“If you change your mind having to do with this most important summit, please do not hesitate to call me or write,” the president wrote to Kim. “The world, and North Korea in particular, has lost a great opportunity for lasting peace and great prosperity and wealth.”

The president also took aim at Democrats on Twitter Friday, whom he accused of seeking to undermine the negotiations.

"Democrats are so obviously rooting against us in our negotiations with North Korea," he tweeted.