Trump Calls Off June 12 Meeting with North Korean Leader

 

United States President Donald Trump¹ has called off a planned meeting on June 12 with North Korea’s leader in Singapore.

In a letter, the Trump administration said the decision was based on the “tremendous anger and open hostility” in recent statements from North Korea.

A Trump administration official noted² that North Korea’s vice³ foreign minister Choe Son Hui had insulted U.S. Vice President Mike Pence. The official called the insult the “last straw.”

In his letter, President Trump called the cancellation⁴ a “missed opportunity” but left open the door to a future meeting. He wrote, “Do not hesitate to call me or write.”

Speaking later at the White House, the president called the cancellation a “setback.” He added that South Korea and Japan had been informed and supported the U.S. position.

A Trump administration official said, “There is a backdoor that’s open still if the North Koreans are willing to walk through it. But it involves some changing of their rhetoric⁵.”

North Korea had threatened to withdraw from the meeting after U.S. officials called for the country to completely dismantle⁶ its nuclear program before any concessions⁷ are made.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told the Senate Foreign Relations committee Thursday that the U.S. still seeks “complete” denuclearization of North Korea.

North Korea, however, has called for a gradual process that links some concessions to steps that lead to denuclearization.

On Tuesday, Trump met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the White House. After news of the cancellation, a spokesman for President Moon told reporters that officials were “trying to figure out what President Trump’s intention is and the exact meaning of it.”

North Korea closes nuclear test area

Although the June 12 meeting has been cancelled, North Korea closed down its Punggye-ri nuclear test area on Thursday.

The move took place hours before Trump called off the meeting.

South Korea’s government welcomed the developments at the test area.

“We are hoping that this action will become the opportunity for complete denuclearization in the future,” a foreign ministry⁸ spokesman said.

North Korea invited a small group of international reporters from the United States, South Korea, China, Russia and Britain to see the closure of the site. At first, the North barred South Korean reporters from the group, but later permitted them to join.

Experts say the move to close the site in the country’s northeast is symbolic⁹. All six of the North’s nuclear tests, starting in 2006, were carried out there. But they expressed doubt whether closing the site will seriously reduce North Korea’s ability for further nuclear tests.

There were reports that the most recent test in September 2017 caused a tunnel to collapse¹⁰ making part of the area unusable. But experts believe that other tunnels at Punggye-ri remain operational.

This year, Kim Jong Un said his country no longer needs to carry out tests because it had reached its nuclear development goals.

North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said this month that dismantling¹¹ Punggye-ri would involve several steps. These would include collapsing¹² all tunnels with explosives, blocking entrances and removing research buildings and security and observation posts.

I’m Mario Ritter.

Words in This Story

tremendous –adj. very great

hesitate –v. to be unwilling¹³ to do something because of doubt

rhetoric –n. language used to influence people that might not be completely honest or reasonable

dismantle –v. to take apart in an orderly way

concessions –n. things that are permitted or given up in order to reach a deal

gradual –adj. moving or changing in small steps over a long period of time

figure out –v. to understand something by thinking

intention –n. a plan to reach a goal or purpose

denuclearization - v. to remove nuclear weapons from a country or place

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 cancellation   

n.删除，取消

参考例句：

• Heavy seas can cause cancellation of ferry services.海上风浪太大，可能须要取消渡轮服务。
• Her cancellation of her trip to Paris upset our plan.她取消了巴黎之行打乱了我们的计划。

5 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

6 dismantle   

vt.拆开，拆卸；废除，取消

参考例句：

• He asked for immediate help from the United States to dismantle the warheads.他请求美国立即提供援助，拆除这批弹头。
• The mower firmly refused to mow,so I decided to dismantle it.修完后割草机还是纹丝不动，于是，我决定把它拆开。

7 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

8 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

9 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

10 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

11 dismantling   

（枪支）分解

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。
• The dismantling of a nuclear reprocessing plant caused a leak of radioactivity yesterday. 昨天拆除核后处理工厂引起了放射物泄漏。

12 collapsing   

压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。

13 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。