President Trump on Tuesday welcomed North Korea’s offer to suspend nuclear tests and enter talks on giving up its nukes but warned that it “may be false hope.”
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made the offer to a South Korean envoy, with was a dramatic concession after aggressively threatening the U.S. and the world with its nuclear weapons and long-range missiles.
“Possible progress being made in talks with North Korea. For the first time in many years, a serious effort is being made by all parties concerned,” Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter. “The World is watching and waiting! May be false hope, but the U.S. is ready to go hard in either direction!”
The tweet highlighted skepticism in the U.S. after a succession of North Korean dictators made deals and then broke them to continue pursuit of a nuclear arsenal.
Still, the promising development followed a flurry of cooperative steps taken by the Koreas during last month’s Winter Olympic games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
It also follows increasing pressure from the United States. The Trump administration has ratcheted up economic sanctions, while Mr. Trump took a hard line and demanded a nuclear-free Korean peninsula in exchange for talks.
The standoff was repeatedly punctuated by Mr. Trump and Mr. Kim trading insults, including the U.S. president taunting his foe as “Little Rocket Man” and threats of raining “fire and fury” on the hermit kingdom.
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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