Trump suggests North Korea summit could be delayed while he huddles with South Korea

Gregory Korte | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Donald Trump says June 12 North Korea summit ‘may not work out’ Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said there was a chance the summit “may not work out” for June 12, but that a decision would be reached soon

WASHINGTON — President Trump cast new uncertainty on his planned summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un Tuesday, saying the June 12 date could slide back on the calendar — or it may not happen at all.

"There's a chance — there's a very substantial chance — it won't work out," Trump said, striking a more doubtful tone about the summit than he has since he agreed to it two months ago.

“You never know about deals," he said. "I’ve made a lot of deals. You never really know.”

That assessment came as Trump met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the White House Tuesday. The two leaders were scheduled to plot strategy for what would be a historic summit with North Korea next month in Singapore — but now appeared to be looking at an increasing likelihood that the summit won't happen.

"I think the summit's dead," said Harry Kazianis of the Center for the National Interest. "And I think the reason it's dead is, quite frankly, that the two sides are too far apart."

No sooner was a day and place set for the summit — June 12 in Singapore — than the assumptions underpinning the meeting began to erode. Trump had agreed to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un based on South Korea's representations that North Korea would agree to the talks without preconditions.

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But in recent weeks, North Korea has ramped up its rhetoric, insisting that the United States and South Korea end joint military exercises and suggesting it doesn't want to give up its nuclear weapons after all.

Trump attributed that change in tone to Kim's second visit to China on May 8, when he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. "I will say this: There was a somewhat different attitude after that meeting. Maybe nothing happened. I'm not blaming anybody," he said. "I can't say I'm happy about it."

As he's attempted to force North Korea to the negotiating table, Trump has relied on a "maximum pressure" strategy that counts on China's willingness to enforce international sanctions on North Korea. China is the regime's largest trading partner.

But Trump has also been navigating his own delicate trade negotiations with China, even agreeing to reconsider penalties against Chinese telecom company ZTE for violating the North Korean sanctions. "I think that President Xi is a world class poker player," Trump said.

More: Trump 'not satisfied' with China trade deal that has been criticized by both parties

Moon said Tuesday he knows there are "very many skeptical views" about whether the summit will succeed, but said this time could be different.

“This will be the first time there will be an agreement among the leaders. The person who is in charge is President Trump. President Trump has been able to achieve this dramatic change,” he said.

But Moon's own national security adviser, Chung Eui-yong, told reporters on his way to Washington that South Korea was making contingency plans in case the summit doesn't pan out.

"We believe there is a 99.9% chance the North Korea-U.S. summit will be held as scheduled," Chung said, according to the Yonhap news agency. "But we're just preparing for many different possibilities."

It was Chung who first cracked an opening to North Korea, using shuttle diplomacy to deliver a message to the White House from Pyongyang in March. He told Trump that Kim was willing to meet without preconditions, and Trump immediately agreed.

"I think Trump made the right decision there," Kazianis said.

"This has always been a Hail Mary," he said. "But we all forgot something: North Korea will always be North Korea. They will never agree to give up their nuclear weapons. To be frank, that's all they have."