Trump-Kim summit: US president blames failure of talks on North Korea's demand for sanctions to be dropped
Follow the latest updates on the historic meeting
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un have cut short their talks in Hanoi, Vietnam and skipped a scheduled lunch event.
The White House confirmed the summit had ended with “no agreement reached” as the leaders headed back to their respective hotels.
The US president talks broke down over North Korea’s demands on US-led sanctions.
“Basically, they wanted the sanctions lifted in their entirety, but we couldn’t do that,” he told reporters. “Sometimes you have to walk.”
Sarah Sanders, the White House press secretary, said negotiations would continue at a future date.
Several Democrats came out acknowledging Mr Trump’s decision to walk away without a deal was the right move in this situation. Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff said walking away with no deal was better than agreeing to a bad deal, before adding that it was “the result of a poorly planned strategy.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer echoed similar statements, citing his concerns about the likelihood of a bad deal forming out of the summit.
“A deal that fell short of complete denuclearization would have only made North Korea stronger & the world less safe,” Mr Schumer said.
After the summit, Mr Trump also defended Mr Kim over the tragic death of American college student Otto Warmbier, who was jailed in North Korea in December 2015 for attempting to steal propaganda material during an organised tour.The president said he does not believe the autocratic leader was aware of Mr Warmbier’s condition in the North Korean hard labour prison camp.
"He tells me he didn't know about it, and I will take him at his word,” Mr Trump said.
After two years of imprisonment, North Korean authorities returned Mr Warbier to the US in a coma in July 2017. A few days later, the 22-year-old died in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio.
Ohio Senators Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman criticised the American president’s defense of Mr Kim.
“I’m very concerned that the President didn’t seem to be all that concerned about the murder of Otto Warmbier from Cincinnati,” Mr Brown told reporters on Thursday. “I don’t know how he says he likes the dictator of NK so much.”
Mr Portman insists that Mr Trump and the American people must remember Mr Warmbier and that “we should never let North Korea off the hook for what they did to him."
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Last night Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un had a 'social' dinner at the Metropole Hotel in Hanoi.
Curious about what they ate? The two leaders dined on a fairly lavish - if traditional - shrimp cocktail starter, grilled sirloin steak and chocolate lava cake.
Intelligence experts say North Korea has only sought to advance its nuclear ambitions under Donald Trump, who has “undermined his negotiators routinely” throughout behind-the-scenes conversations ahead of this week’s summit.
Read more for US reporter Chris Riotta here:
Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un are currently holding a joint press conference.
In a speech to press full of praise for Kim Jong-un and North Korea, Donald Trump has said: "When you have a good relationship a lot of good things happen ... I know we're going to have a fantastic success with Chairman Kim and North Korea ... I think it's going to be an economic power house and its something i very much look forward to helping with."
The US president repeatedly said "speed is not that important to me," and that the aim is "to do the right deal".
Trump added: "I appreciate [North Korea] not testing nuclear missiles ... we had a very good talk about that last night."
As Donald Trump says "no rush" on an agreement with North Korea, Kim Jong-un pledges to "make every effort" for a "positive result" in nuclear talks.
Mr Trump told reporters that "a lot of great ideas" are "being thrown about".
Mr Kim added that the "whole world" was watching the talks and suggested that, for some, the image of the two "sitting side by side" must resemble "a fantasy movie".
Here's more on North Korea's supreme leader taking what is believed to have been his first ever question from a Western reporter:
Here's some of the key points from a schedule that was just released to White House reporters (all times are local):
9:45am: Trump participates in an expanded bilateral meeting with Kim Jong-un
11:55am: Trump has a working lunch with Kim Jong-un
2:05pm: Trump participates in a Joint Agreement Signing Ceremony with Kim Jong-un
3:50pm: Trump participates in a press conference
6:05pm: Trump leaves Hanoi
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