Kim and Trump have agreed to meet, which has prompted questions about what results the summit will produce.(STR/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is staying mum on the potential talks between President Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, but said questions about the talks floated in the media are “very valid.”
Mattis kicked it to the State Department and senior Trump administration officials to answer questions about the high-pressure talks.
“When you get into a position like this, the potential for misunderstanding remains very high and grows higher,” Mattis said to the Washington Post on a Middle East-bound flight. “I want those who are actually … in the discussions to answer all media questions.”
His remarks come amid a New York Times report that Trump agreed on the spot to meet Kim when South Korea’s envoy brought the invitation to the White House.
Mattis, a retired Marine general, and National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, also an active Army general, were stunned that Trump wouldn’t mull the invitation over first, the Times reported.
They warned he should consider negatives of the meeting, which the commander-in-chief reportedly waved off.
Trump’s decision caught many others by surprise, the Times reported, including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Tillerson was in Africa at the time, and reportedly spoke to Trump about Kim’s offer once U.S. officials got wind through intelligence agencies that it was coming.
South Korean National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong was also rushed to draft a statement with McMaster that he’d deliver right outside the White House.
Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping were also shocked to find out, the Times noted, and Trump scrambled to call them.
Mattis said he wasn't going to comment on the talks, but said questions in the media are "very valid."(CAROLYN KASTER/AP)
Kim has promised to halt his nuclear and missile tests if Trump sits down with him to hammer out a peace deal.
But the arrangement has come under scrutiny, and critics are concerned military action will be the only option if talks fall through.
Trump admitted at a rally for House candidate Rick Saccone on Saturday he isn’t sure what will happen.
“I may leave fast or we may sit down and make the greatest deal in the world,” he said at the Pennsylvania appearance.
Mattis, who’s pushed for a diplomatic solution to tensions on the Korean peninsula, declined to say what military options are under consideration.
“If I was on your side of the cabin, I would be doing the same thing,” Mattis told reporters, according to the Washington Post. “But what I want you to understand right now is that every word is going to be … parsed apart across different cultures, and at different times of the day, and in different contexts.”
What the talks entail will likely be hammered out in the next few weeks, as Trump wants to have the meeting by May.
One option is to have Kim travel to Washington, D.C., to meet with Trump on his home turf, White House press secretary Raj Shah said Sunday on ABC News’ “This Week.”
- ny news
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