Trump Reportedly Caught Totally Off Guard by North Korea’s Threats to Pull Out of Summit
JUST IN: The White House was caught off guard by the warning from North Korea about military drills, according to aides https://t.co/6mp4jMAca6 pic.twitter.com/PTSkxfudhN
— CNN (@CNN) May 15, 2018
The White House was caught off guard Tuesday after some press reports indicated that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un threatened to suspend next month’s U.S.-North Korea summit in Singapore.
CNN White House Correspondent Jeff Zeleny reported that President Donald Trump found out about Kim Jong Un threatening to cancel the June 12 summit in the same manner everyone else did: Through news reports.
As of the time of publication, North Korea still has not informed the U.S. government directly of any changes to the schedule. State Department Spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Tuesday that she does not have any information regarding the president’s meeting with Kim Jong Un other than what Kim Jong Un had already told U.S. government officials.
“We will continue to plan the meeting between President Trump and Kim Jong Un,” Nauert said.
Nauert said she had only been notified of the latest reports on the North Korea summit just before going out to deliver the daily State Department press briefing. Former State Department Spokesman Adm. John Kirby, now a CNN commentator, said Tuesday that Nauert did about as good of a job as she could in terms of responding to the news — given the circumstances.
It was clear, though, that the White House did not see this one coming. Zeleny further reported on CNN that the White House could release a statement “once they sort of get a handle on what’s going on.” Kirby said an official statement is not likely until the U.S. government receives official word from the North Korean regime.
[image via Getty]
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