Pyongyang rues Trump decision to cancel North Korea meet, says 'extremely regrettable'

The summit, which was canceled by the White House on grounds of 'open hostility' from North Korea, could have been the first time a sitting US President meeting a leader from Pyongyang.

Trump, who made the announcement through an open letter directed towards Kim Jong-un, said he looks very much forward to meeting the North Korean leader.

"I felt a wonderful dialogue was building up between you and me, and ultimately, it is only the dialogue that matters. Some day, I look very much forward to meeting you," he said.

The US President also thanked his North Korea counterpart for the release of the three American hostages.

"In the meantime, I want to thank you for the release of the hostages who are now home with their families. That was a beautiful gesture and was very much appreciated," Trump wrote.

Reacting to North Korean Vice Foreign Minister and longtime nuclear negotiator, Choe Son Hui's statement about a nuclear showdown, Trump said that the US possess much bigger weapons and he prays to God that they will never have to be used.

"You talk about your nuclear capabilities, but ours are so massive and powerful that I pray to God they will never have to be used," Trump said.

Calling it a sad moment in history and a lost opportunity for North Korea, the US President has urged Kim Jong-un to write or call if the latter changes his mind about the meeting.

"If you change your mind having to do with this most important summit, please do not hesitate to call me or write. The world, and North Korea in particular, has lost a great opportunity for latest peace and great prosperity and wealth. This missed opportunity is a truly sad moment in history," he said.

Tensions heightened between the two nations after US Vice President Mike Pence warned North Korea not to play Trump, during an interview with Fox News.

"It would be a great mistake for Kim Jong-un to think he could play Donald Trump," Pence said.

Following Pence's warning, US National Security Adviser John Bolton reportedly told media that America would follow the 'Libya model' of denuclearisation in the Korea Peninsula.

In Libya, the late dictator Muammar Gaddafi shook hands with Western powers in 2003, to allow the latter to come to his nation and dismantle his nuclear programme, in exchange of lenient sanctions.

Gadaffi was killed eight years later by the same allies-backed rebels.

The US came under fire from Choe Son Hui, who in a scathing statement said:  "At an interview with Fox News on May 21, US Vice-President Pence made unbridled and impudent remarks that North Korea might end like Libya, military option for North Korea never came off the table, the US needs complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation, and so on."

"As a person involved in the US affairs, I cannot suppress my surprise at such ignorant and stupid remarks gushing out from the mouth of the US vice-president.

"If he is vice-president of "single superpower" as is in name, it will be proper for him to know even a little bit about the current state of global affairs and to sense to a certain degree the trends in dialogue and the climate of détente.

"We could surmise more than enough what a political dummy he is as he is trying to compare the DPRK, a nuclear weapon state, to Libya that had simply installed a few items of equipment and fiddled around with them.

"Soon after the White House National Security Adviser Bolton made the reckless remarks, Vice-President Pence has again spat out nonsense that the DPRK would follow in Libya's footstep.

"It is to be underlined, however, that in order not to follow in Libya's footstep, we paid a heavy price to build up our powerful and reliable strength that can defend ourselves and safeguard peace and security in the Korean peninsula and the region," she added.
 

Here's Trump's full text:

Dear Mr. Chairman:

We greatly appreciate your time, patience, and effort with respect to our recent negotiations and discussions relative to a summit long sought by both parties, which was scheduled to take place on June 12 in Singapore. We were informed that the meeting was requested by North Korea, but that to us is totally irrelevant. I was very much looking forward to being there with you. Sadly, based on the tremendous anger and open hostility displayed in your most recent statement, I feel it is inappropriate, at this time, to have this long-planned meeting. Therefore, please let this letter serve to represent that the Singapore summit, for the good of both parties, but to the detriment of the world, will not take place. You talk about your nuclear capabilities, but ours are so massive and powerful that I pray to God they will never have to be used.

I felt a wonderful dialogue was building up between you and me, and ultimately, it is only the dialogue that matters. Some day, I look very much forward to meeting you. In the meantime, I want to thank you for the release of the hostages who are now home with their families. That was a beautiful gesture and was very much appreciated.

If you change your mind having to do with this most important summit, please do not hesitate to call me or write. The world, and North Korea in particular, has lost a great opportunity for latest peace and great prosperity and wealth. This missed opportunity is a truly sad moment in history.

Sincerely yours,

Donald J. Trump

President of the United States of America