Trump calls Kim open, honourable as summit planning goes on

FILE: Trump cautioned Tuesday that North Korea had not followed through on previous promises. But he credited sanctions, pressure from international allies and other tough action pushed by his administration for having forced the North to hold talks. (File photo: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani via NASA HQ PHOTO/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is sounding more optimistic about a summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, even calling the leader he once tagged with the nickname “Rocket Man” both very open and very honourable.

Brokering a deal on North Korea’s nuclear program is the primary U.S. aim for a face-to-face meeting with the North in May or June.

Trump cautioned Tuesday that North Korea had not followed through on previous promises. But he credited sanctions, pressure from international allies and other tough action pushed by his administration for having forced the North to hold talks. And the president again suggested that he would “leave the table” if the negotiations were not productive or if North Korea was not operating in good faith.

Trump says, “We’ll see where that all goes.”