Donald Trump moves to claim credit for peace talks on Korean peninsula, taking aim at ‘those who failed so badly’
Trump credited the personal bond he forged with Chinese President Xi Jinping for fostering the rapid turnabout with North Korea
US President Donald Trump has placed himself at the centre of the remarkable summit between the leaders of North and South Korea, taking credit for bold and innovative diplomacy that may open a path to peace where other leaders failed.
“It’s certainly something that I hope I can do for the world,” Trump said. “This is beyond the United States. This is a world problem, and it’s something that I hope I’m able to do for the world.”
Trump said on Saturday that “things are going very well” after talking with South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in about his imminent summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
“Just had a long and very good talk with President Moon of South Korea. Things are going very well, time and location of meeting with North Korea is being set,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “Also spoke to Prime Minister [Shinzo] Abe of Japan to inform him of the ongoing negotiations.”
The dramatic turn of events on the Korean peninsula was the capstone to a week that crystallised the ways Trump has established his foreign policy approach as one that rests largely on the pride he takes in busting the old conventions of diplomatic negotiations and remaking them in his image. The world is adjusting.
This is beyond the United States. This is a world problem, and it’s something that I hope I’m able to do for the world
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited the White House this week hoping to convince Trump not to abandon the Iran nuclear deal and to back off his protectionist trade policies. But by the time they left, both leaders had largely given up trying to convince Trump he was wrong and instead focused on how to work around their differences.