The second summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump has ended with the two sides failing to reach a deal, officials from the White House said on Thursday.
In a surprise development following a morning of talks between DPRK and U.S. officials at Hanoi’s Metropole hotel, the White House said the two sides “had very good and constructive meetings in Hanoi, on February 27-28.”
“The two leaders discussed various ways to advance denuclearization and economic driven concepts,” the statement, issue by White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders, read.
“No agreement was reached at this time, but their respective teams look forward to meeting in the future.”
The news follows over an hour of uncertainty about the progress of the summit, following news from the White House that a planned working lunch between the two sides had been cancelled.
A planned joint statement by the two leaders, set to take place at 1405 Hanoi time, began to appear increasingly unlikely, with the news that a planned press conference by U.S. President Donald Trump had been moved to 1400.
Kim Jong Un’s entourage was subsequently seen leaving the Metropole hotel at 1325 local time, followed by the President’s team.
Kim and Trump met this morning at 0855 for the second day of their second summit, holding one-on-one talks following by an expanded meeting at 0945.
That initial meeting saw the U.S. President appear to dial down expectations for the summit, saying he was in “no rush.”
“I’ve been saying very much from the beginning that speed is not that important to me,” he said, telling Kim Jong Un he “very much appreciate[s] no testing of nuclear rocket missiles.”
Featured image: Rodong Sinmun
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