White House Officials Reportedly Growing Increasingly Doubtful NoKo Summit Will Happen

New: Administration aides have grown increasingly skeptical the summit between President Trump and Kim Jong Un will come to fruition amid harsh rhetoric from Pyongyang and concerns over the meeting's agenda, sources say https://t.co/5XL5skekyE pic.twitter.com/J5HZGTeLtp

— The Situation Room (@CNNSitRoom) May 21, 2018

A new report suggests that President Trump‘s meeting with Kim Jong Un is looking less and less likely to actually happen.

White House officials have told CNN that the Trump Administration has seen increased skepticism that the proposed summit between the U.S. and North Korean governments will go anywhere. The White House is still trying to iron out the details for the meeting next month in Singapore, but between North Korea’s threats to back out, disagreements over the summit arrangements, and Kim’s refusal to denuclearize, Trump’s advisers are reportedly skeptical that anything will come out of this.

From the report:

“Aides have become more pessimistic about Kim’s intentions after weeks of positive signs, including the release of three Americans being held prisoner in North Korea. Some national security aides are worried that with just three weeks remaining before the summit there isn’t enough enough time to coordinate with the North Koreans on possible outcomes.

After mulling the rhetoric for the past week, White House officials now believe Kim was attempting to test Trump’s willingness to make concessions ahead of the summit, according to a US official. The North’s furious denouncement of [John] Bolton is viewed as an attempt to sow divisions among Trump’s team, particularly as Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have aired differing views of the summit’s goals in public.”

The North Korean government signaled last week that the meeting may be cancelled because of ongoing U.S. Military drills in South Korea. South Korean President Moon Jae-in will visit the White House tomorrow, and he’ll presumably work with Trump to salvage the situation.

[Image via screengrab]

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