The White House is promoting the president's summit next week with Kim Jong-un as an opportunity for the two leaders to continue the conversation they started last summer.
President Trump said this week that he expects to 'accomplish a lot' in two days of talks with the North Korean dictator, set to take place on Feb. 27 and 28 Vietnam.
His spokeswoman, Sarah Sanders, dramatically lowered the bar on Friday, however, as she claimed that 'only' reporters are suggesting that something other than a positive relationship between the two leaders is an ascertainable goal.
'I think that the only one setting high expectations is probably the media,' she said during an interview on Fox News. 'He's had a great success here, in the fact that they're able to even sit down at the table. The fact that he's able to do it again, is itself a big success.'
The administration is also softening its language on sanctions, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claiming that the punishing actions will stay in place until the U.S. is 'confident that we’ve substantially reduced' the risk of a nuclear North Korea.
The White House is promoting the president's summit next week with Kim Jong-un as an opportunity for the two leaders to continue the conversation they started last summer
The administration is also softening its language on sanctions, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claiming that the punishing actions will stay in place until the U.S. is 'confident that we’ve substantially reduced' the risk of a nuclear North Korea
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watches the launch of a Hwasong-12 missile in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on September 16, 2017, shortly after the nation conducted its last nuclear test
Trump insisted all of last year that crippling sanctions would not be lifted until Pyongyang had submitted to complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization requirements.
Nuclear weapons are banned by the United Nations, and North Korea has been in violation of treaties barring tests for decades.
The U.S. president says that his predecessors are at fault for entering weak agreements, and he has made more progress in two years toward reducing the risk of nuclear annihilation than they ever did.
'I don’t think they’re reluctant. I think they want to do something,' he said of denuclearization Wednesday in the Oval Office. 'They’ve been talking about this for many, many years, and no administration has done anything. They’ve gotten taken to the cleaners.'
Pyongyang has stopped testing ballistic missiles and it has returned U.S. hostages and the remains of American soldiers from the Korean War, he routinely points out.
'When we started, as you know, there were a lot of problems,' he again noted on Wednesday. 'There was the missiles going all over. There were hostages that were being held. There were remains that we wanted to get back. There were many, many things.
He reflected, 'And we have a good relationship — a very good relationship, I’d say.'
Experts warn that North Korea has made similar overtures in the past only to recommence testing once economic pressure is lifted.
'Given the long history of North Korea's long history of non-compliance with previous agreements, or cheating, I think all Korea watchers are pretty pessimistic about a break though success with North Korea,' said former CIA Deputy Division Chief for Korea Bruce Klingner.
The research fellow at the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation said the 'White House has unnecessarily over-hyped the progress that it claims has been made with North Korea' as the nation continues to pursue nuclear weapons.
Klingner warned the Trump could unilaterally make commitments to Kim in their private talks that would leave U.S. officials scrambling, like agreeing to pause additional military exercises.
He said that Trump surprised former Secretary of Defense James Mattis with his promise at the last summit to halt them and he could promises of that caliber that could have ripple effects on U.S. allies around the globe once again.
Trump and Kim shake hands after their first summit in Singapore in June of 2018
Trump claims to be one of the greatest dealmakers of his time and has repeatedly committed to leaving American troops in South Korea and economic sanctions in place until North Korea follows through on its commitment in Singapore last June to get rid of its nuclear arsenal.
Troop removal is 'not a subject of discussions' at this time, a senior official told reporters on Thursday.
In a call, the official wouldn't say what else the U.S. or North Korea may have committed to in the interim, telling reporters, 'We are in the midst of negotiating on some issues, and as is often the case in these negotiations, nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to.
'I would not want to mention any of the specifics except to say that we will be closely engaged with the North Korean delegation right up until the President arrives for the summit next week,' the person said.
A declaration from Trump on Wednesday that only 'meaningful' progress would stimulate the removal sanctions signaled a possible climb down from Trump on previous pledges as he searches for a deal.
'The sanctions are on in full. As you know, I haven’t taken sanctions off. I’d love to be able to, but in order to do that, we have to do something that’s meaningful on the other side,' he stated.
U.S. officials declined to further comment on the briefing call with reporters on Thursday.
Pompeo had similarly suggested that the U.S. could ease sanctions that morning, on 'Today,' as he previewed next week's summit.
'The American people should know we have the toughest economic sanctions that have ever been placed on North Korea, and we won’t release that pressure until such time as we’re confident that we’ve substantially reduced that risk,' he said in a carefully-worded answer.
This is Trump's second trip to Vietnam: He's seen here meeting Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang in Hanoi on Nov. 12, 2017
He denied that Trump is 'ratcheting down' expectations for the summit in another appearance, on Fox Business, that day.
Pompeo said, 'I hope we can make real progress, that Chairman Kim will begin to fulfill the commitment he made in June in Singapore of last year to denuclearize his own country.'
He did not define progress and wouldn't talk about the removal of troops from South Korea.
'I don’t want to get into the negotiations, what we might give up, what they might give up,' he asserted.
Appearing on 'Fox & Friends' on Friday morning, Sanders, the White House press secretary, promised even less.
She said to 'expect continued conversations between the two leaders' in Vietnam.
'We've got a long way to go, and we'll see what happens, but we're continuing to make progress, and this is another great step for the president and Chairman Kim to be able to sit down and continue those conversations,' she stated.
Link hienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2019/02/22/trump-administration-softens-expectations-for-summit-and-sanctions-removal/
Main photo article The White House is promoting the president’s summit next week with Kim Jong-un as an opportunity for the two leaders to continue the conversation they started last summer.
President Trump said this week that he expects to ‘accomplish a lot’ in two days of talks with the North...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/02/22/17/10151200-6734539-image-a-38_1550856377758.jpg
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