US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that North Korea had a bright economic future if the two countries made a deal, but did not have any economic future with nuclear weapons.
The second meeting between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, in Vietnam, was cut short after they failed to reach a deal on the extent of sanctions relief North Korea would get in exchange for steps to give up its nuclear programme.
“North Korea has an incredible, brilliant economic future if they make a deal but they don’t have any economic future if they have nuclear weapons,” Trump said at a Conservative Political Action Conference.
He added that the relationship with North Korea seemed to be “very, very strong.”
The United States and North Korea have said they intend to continue talks but have not said when a next round might take place.
While some credited Trump for refusing to be drawn into a bad deal, he was criticised for earlier praising Kim’s leadership and saying he accepted his assertion that he had not been aware of how an American student who died after 17 months in a North Korean prison had been treated.
