And after all this, President Trump leaves Vietnam with no denuclearization deal with North Korea:
THERE IS NO DEAL, FOR NOW:
Sarah Sanders, per print pool: "No agreement was reached at this time, but their respective teams look forward to meeting in the future."
— Kathryn Watson (@kathrynw5) February 28, 2019
Ultimately the sanctions were the sticking point:
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — President Trump says US sanctions were sticking point in failed talks with NKorea's Kim Jong Un at Vietnam summit.
— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) February 28, 2019
Pompeo: "We asked him to do more, he was unprepared to do that."
Adds he's "optimistic" that "the progress we've made in the last two days puts us in position to do more."
— Eli Stokols (@EliStokols) February 28, 2019
The totally independent firefighters of the media seem pretty psyched about no deal:
Hanoi summit ends with the self described deal maker president making no deal. pic.twitter.com/VjLHGk88Uy
— Kelly O'Donnell (@KellyO) February 28, 2019
The U.S. was even ready to give on on total denuclearization, but still the Norks balked:
Trump: "Basically they wanted the sanctions lifted in their entirety, and we weren't willing to do that. They were willing to denuke a large portion of the areas we wanted … but not all the ones we wanted. So we had to walk away." pic.twitter.com/rX4O7tOFWV
— Christina Wilkie (@christinawilkie) February 28, 2019
Recommended
So, Trump wasn’t bamboozled?
Looks like Kim turned up in Hanoi unprepared to make a credible offer. Either the US side failed to make clear to NK beforehand what was realistic, or Kim thought he could bamboozle Trump.
— Jackson Diehl (@JacksonDiehl) February 28, 2019
Keep in mind, experts never thought total denuclearization was even possible:
Excellent, if expected, news. An inventory was asking to be lied to and would have been deadly for negotiations. The shift move us away from the immediate disarmament mirage and into the real world of arms control. https://t.co/7udjdF2ucI
— Adam Mount (@ajmount) February 28, 2019
So negotiations can probably move forward:
Trump won't say he's still demanding "complete and verifiable denuclearization" by DPRK:
"I don't want to put myself in that position from the standpoint of negotiation."
— Eli Stokols (@EliStokols) February 28, 2019
And we’ll just have to wait and see if Kim Jong Un keeps his word:
Trump has pointed to the pause in DPRK nuclear tests as the sign that talks have been positive, says Kim promised he'll continue to halt tests:
"One of the things Chairman Kim promised me last night is he's not going to do testing of rockets and nuclear."
— Eli Stokols (@EliStokols) February 28, 2019
Trump says that it was a “productive two days” with Kim Jong-Un but “sometimes you have to walk.”
— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) February 28, 2019
Donald Trump's presser summed up in one sentence: "When we walked away, it was a very friendly walk."
— James Hohmann (@jameshohmann) February 28, 2019
To be continued. . .
Trump on next meeting with Kim: "it might be soon, it might not be for a long time"
— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) February 28, 2019
***