President Donald Trump said he felt that North Korean officials were “sincere” in indicating to their South Korean counterparts that they would be open to getting rid of the country’s nuclear weapons program. | Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo Trump credits 'biting' U.S. sanctions for progress on North Korea But the president warns that he is 'prepared to go whichever path is necessary.'

President Donald Trump on Tuesday attributed recent progress in talks between North and South Korea to strengthened U.S. sanctions under his administration but also said he was prepared to buck diplomacy, depending on what happened in the discussions.

Fielding questions from reporters during a White House news conference with Prime Minister Stefan Lofven of Sweden, Trump said he felt that North Korean officials were “sincere” in indicating to their South Korean counterparts that they would be open to getting rid of the country’s nuclear weapons program.


Trump added that the break in negotiations, announced by South Korean leaders earlier Tuesday, was partly brought on by tightening U.S. sanctions on the North.

“I think that they are sincere, but I think they’re sincere also because the sanctions and what we’re doing with respect to North Korea,” Trump said in the East Room of the White House. “The sanctions have been very, very strong. And very biting.”



Earlier Tuesday, Trump cited the discussions involving North Korea as proof of progress in easing tensions in the region.

“We’ve come certainly a long way, at least rhetorically, with North Korea,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office during a meeting with Lofven. “It would be a great thing for the world, it would be a great thing for North Korea, it would be a great thing for the peninsula, but we’ll see what happens.”

POLITICO Playbook newsletter Sign up today to receive the #1-rated newsletter in politics Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

The president, in a departure from his past explosive rhetoric on North Korea, expressed optimism that further progress could be reached after South Korean officials said their North Korean counterparts signaled willingness to part with their nuclear weapons program under certain circumstances.

“We have made progress,” Trump said. “There’s no question about it.”

But Trump, who since entering office has repeatedly and publicly traded insults with the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, said the U.S. could either further engage or back away from talks. “We’re prepared to go whichever path is necessary,” he said.

South Korean officials said Tuesday that officials in Kim’s government expressed an openness to disbanding efforts to build its nuclear arsenal if military threats against their country were resolved, according to The Associated Press.

The remarks came after a South Korean delegation met with Kim and other top officials in North Korea to discuss efforts to stabilize relations in the peninsula.

North and South Korean officials have agreed to hold further talks in April and set up a hotline between Kim and South Korea’s president, Moon Jae-In.

At Tuesday’s meeting, The AP reported, Kim was said to have voiced his “firm will to vigorously advance the North-South relations and write a new history of national reunification by the concerted efforts of our nation to be proud of in the world.”

A senior administration official expressed a degree of skepticism that the North Koreans would live up to statements, however, telling reporters in a call that the country had a long history of failing to follow through on its pledges to the international community.

The U.S. military exercises in the region, which ceased during the recent Winter Olympics in South Korea, will resume when the Paralympic Games conclude on March 18, the official added.

After news of North Korea’s willingness to discuss denuclearization broke, the president alluded to the talks by tweeting out a link to an article on the summit with the comment: “We will see what happens!”

Trump later tweeted that “possible progress” was underway in talks between the North and the South, while cautioning that the development may be false hope. He added that “the U.S. is ready to go hard in either direction!”

The president alarmed the international community last year when he threatened to unleash “fire and fury” on North Korea should the country fail to heed calls to temper its weapons testing. Trump and Kim have flung insults at one other, with the U.S. leader deriding Kim as “little Rocket Man.”

Vice President Mike Pence vowed on Tuesday that the U.S. would “remain committed to applying maximum pressure” on North Korea to cease its nuclear program regardless of the outcome of negotiations.

“All options are on the table and our posture toward the regime will not change until we see credible, verifiable and concrete steps toward denuclearization,” Pence said in a statement.

U.S. officials have signaled that direct talks with North Korea would occur only if Kim were committed to scaling back the country’s nuclear weapons program.

