The Elder Statement : Buying time? North Korea threat to cancel U.S. summit calculated to hide nukes

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Thursday, May 17, 2018

Buying time? North Korea threat to cancel U.S. summit calculated to hide nukes, intel officials say

elderstatement.com May 17, 2018 Buying time? North Korea threat to cancel U.S. summit calculated to hide nukes , intel officials say 0 Comments

By CNBC, May 16, 2018

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that "we'll have to see" if a planned summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un will still take place, as Pyongyang threatens to pull out of the meeting.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, the president stressed he would still insist on the isolated regime dismantling its nuclear program. Asked if Kim is bluffing by suggesting he could pull out of the summit, Trump responded, "we'll see what happens."

Buying time? North Korea threat to cancel U.S. summit calculated to hide nukes, intel officials say

elderstatement.com May 17, 2018 Buying time? North Korea threat to cancel U.S. summit calculated to hide nukes , intel officials say 0 Comments

By Washington Times, May 16, 2018

North Korea’s abrupt threat this week to pull out of the upcoming summit with President Trump was highly calculated, according to intelligence officials who say Pyongyang wanted to harden its negotiating position against a quick “Libya-style” surrender of its nuclear programs sought by the Trump White House and buy time to hide its nuclear weapons.

While U.S. officials say they believe Pyongyang’s threat — conveyed so far only via state-controlled media — was also driven by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s need to show his domestic audience he won’t “roll over” to Mr. Trump, the development raised fresh questions about the scope of Pyongyang’s nuclear operations and Mr. Kim’s willingness to abandon them.