Press Conference by President Trump: June 12, 2018
From the beginning, we got along. But there's been a lot of groundwork. This wasn't like we went and we started talking about - as you know, right? We didn't just come in and start talking about these very complex subjects that have been going on for 70 years. We've been discussing this for months. And, you know, once the rhetoric stopped, once they did a great thing -you know, North Korea did a great thing by going to the Olympics. Because the Olympics - and President Moon will tell you this - the Olympics was not exactly doing great. People didn't feel like being bombed out of the Opening Ceremonies. You know, they weren't exactly selling tickets. And as soon as the Chairman - Chairman Kim - said, "Let's participate in the Olympics," it sold like wildfire and was a great success as an Olympics. It was a great success. He did a great thing.
But since that time, pretty much since that time - because, as you know, a delegation came from South Korea who had just met with North Korea. They came to the White House. They told me lots of things, including the fact that they'd be willing to denuke. We have one of their great people here today. That they were willing to denuke. And once that started, we have been really talking about that from the end of the Olympics when the whole delegation came to say various things, including denuking.
Q If I may, a second question. In the document that you signed earlier today, North Korea agreed to commit to denuclearization. To borrow a phrase that you have used to criticize your predecessors and political opponents, how do you ensure that North Korea is not all talk, no action going forward?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think can you ensure anything? Can I ensure that you're going to be able to sit down properly when you sit down? I mean, you can't ensure anything. All I can say is they want to make a deal. That's what I do. My whole life has been deals. I've done great at it, and that's what I do. And I know when somebody wants to deal, and I know when somebody doesn't. A lot of politicians don't. That's not their thing, but it is my thing.
I mean, again, this really could have been done, I think, easier a long time ago. But I know for a - I just feel very strongly - my instinct, my ability, or talent - they want to make a deal. And making a deal is a great thing for the world. It's also a great thing for China because I can't imagine that China has, you know, is happy with somebody having nuclear weapons so close. So, you know, that's - China was very helpful.
So I think he wants to make a deal. Can anybody be certain? But we're going to be certain soon because the negotiations continue. Okay? Thank you very much.
Go ahead.
Q You mentioned that you have raised extensively the issue of human rights with Chairman Kim.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes.
Q I wonder what you would say to the group of people who have no ability whatsoever to hear or to see this press conference - the 100,000 North Koreans kept in a network of gulags. Have you betrayed them by legitimizing the regime in Pyongyang?
THE PRESIDENT: No, I think I've helped them because I think things will change. I think I've helped them. There's nothing I can say. All I can do is do what I can do. We have to stop the nuclearization. We have to do other things, and that's a very important thing. So at a certain point, hopefully, you'll be able to ask me a much more positive question or make a statement.
But not much I can do right now. At a certain point, I really believe he's going to do things about it. I think they are one of the great winners today, that large group of people that you're talking about. I think, ultimately, they're going to be one of the great winners as a group.
Yes, sir. Go ahead. Go ahead. Yeah.
Q Would you ever consider removing the sanctions without significant improvement in the human rights situation?
THE PRESIDENT: No. I want significant improvement. I want to know that it won't be happening. And again, once you start that process, there will be a point at which, even though you won't be finished for a while because it can't happen scientifically or mechanically, but you're not going to be able to go back. You know, once we reach that point, I'll start to give that very serious thought.
Yes. Go ahead. Go ahead. Go ahead. You first.
Q Mr. President, did you also discuss the cost of denuclearization and how North Korea is about to foot the bill while the crippling sanctions remain in place? I'm from (inaudible) News Agency Singapore.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think that South Korea and I think that Japan will help them very greatly. I think they're prepared to help them. They know they're going to have to help them. I think they're going to help them very greatly. We won't have to help them. The United States has been paying a big price in a lot of different places. But South Korea, which obviously is right next door, and Japan, which essentially is next door, they're going to be helping them. And I think they're going to be doing a very generous job and a terrific job. So they will be helping them.
Yes, ma'am. Go ahead. Behind. Yes.
Q Thank you, Mr. President.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.
Q I'd like to follow up on Steve's question. He asked you how long it would take to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula. You said a long time. What does that mean?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I don't know, when you say a long time. I think we will do it as fast as it can be done scientifically, as fast as it can be done mechanically. I don't think - I mean, I've read horror stories. It's a 15-year process. Okay? Assuming you wanted to do it quickly, I don't believe that. I think whoever wrote that is wrong. But there will be a point at which, when you're 20 percent through, you can't go back.
I had an uncle who was a great professor for, I believe, 40 years at MIT. And I used to discuss nuclear with him all the time. He was a great expert. He was a great, brilliant genius. Dr. John Trump at MIT. I think he was there 40 years, I was told. In fact, the head of MIT sent me a book on my uncle. But we used to talk about nuclear. You're talking about a very complex subject. It's not just like, "Oh, gee. Let's get rid of the nukes." It takes a period of time.
But the main period of time that I'm talking is that first period, when you hit a certain point you can't go back. It's very hard to go back.
Q And how long will that take?
THE PRESIDENT: We don't know, but it will go pretty quickly.
Go ahead. Sure.
Q Thanks, Mr. President. I wanted to ask again on the sanctions campaign.
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah.
Q You alluded at the very beginning that the Chinese are not doing as great a job securing the border as they were before. You expressed some doubts when Kim went to see President Xi. The Russian foreign minister was in Pyongyang and said there shouldn't be any sanctions while these negotiations are under way. And the South Koreans are now talking about restoring some form of trade. So with all of those players appearing to be moving toward eroding sanctions, how can you keep the sanctions regime in place? What leverage do you have on these countries?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think we have a lot of leverage. I think we have tremendous leverage. I do believe that China, despite my relationship with President Xi - a man who I told you I have great respect for and like, also, a lot. You know, we're having very tough talks on trade. And I think that probably affects China somewhat. But I have to do what I have to do. And I think, over the last two months, the border is more open than it was when we first started. But that is what it is. We have to do it. We have a tremendous deficit in trade, commonly known as a trade deficit. We have a tremendous deficit in trade with China, and we have to do something about it. We can't continue to let that happen.
And I think that has had an impact on my relationship, in terms of the border. I don't think it has the relationship - you know, I don't think it affects my feeling or my relationship to President Xi. But when we first started, we weren't ready to go that route. And as we started preparing and getting ready to do that, I think that's had an impact on, frankly, the border. Which is a shame. But I have to do it. I have no choice. For our country, I have to do it.
South Korea will do whatever is necessary to get a deal done. And if that means we can't trade, then I'm not going to trade. They're definitely not going to trade. If they think - and they would do this with our concurrence - if they think that they can do some work because we're very far down the line - we're actually very far. You know, that document, when you read it today, that's far down the line. That's not something that just happened to be put together. This was done over months. And again, the rhetoric was important, and the sanctions were important. I don't even know which one was more important. They were both important.
Yeah. Go ahead.
Q Mr. President, David Sanger for The New York Times. I was wondering if you could give us some sense of whether the Chairman Kim told you how many nuclear weapons he believes he's made, whether he's willing to turn those over first, and then whether, in your mind, you need to do more than was done in the Iran deal for actually dismantling the - both the uranium and the plutonium processes. And whether or not you had a sense that Chairman Kim really understood what that involves and had a timetable in his own mind of shutting that.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, David, I can tell you he understands. He understands it so well. He understands it better than the people that are doing the work for him. That is an easy one. As far as what he has, it's substantial. Very substantial. The timing will go quickly. I believe you'll see some good action. I mean, as an example, one of the things with the missile site, I think you're probably surprised to hear that - that was a throw-in at the end, the missile site.
But I really believe, David, that it's going to go very quickly. I really believe that it's going to go fast. And it is a very substantial arsenal. There's no question about it. You know, I used to say maybe it's all talk and no action. But we have pretty good intelligence into that. Although, probably less there than any other country. You understand that maybe better than anybody in the room. Probably less there than any other country. But we have enough intelligence to know that what they have is very substantial.
This is why, David, I always say that this shouldn't have taken place so late into the process. Wouldn't this have been better if it was 5 years ago or 20 years ago or 15 years ago and we didn't have to worry about not having a successful meeting like today? So - and I still love my first interview with you, David. I still have that interview, actually.
Yeah. Go ahead.
Q Thank you, Mr. President.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.
Q (Inaudible) the second summit - if there is a second summit with Chairman Kim Jong Un, would it be in Pyongyang or Washington?
THE PRESIDENT: We haven't set that up. We'll probably need another summit. We'll probably need - or meeting. We can use a different term. But we'll probably need another one. We'll probably - I will say this, we're much further along than I would have thought. I did not think we'd be here. I thought - and I've told people - I didn't want to build up people's hopes too much. I told people I thought that this would be a successful meeting if we got along, we developed a relationship, and we could have maybe gotten to this point in three or four months from now. But it really happened very quickly. A lot of that was because of the foundation that was, you know, put down before we met. A lot of things happened very fast.
We didn't have - as an example, bringing back the remains. That was not one of the things that was on our agenda today. I brought that up at the very end because so many people have talked to me about it. And I brought it up at the very end. And he was really very gracious. Instead of saying, "Well, let's talk about it the next time." He said, "It makes sense. We will do it."
And he knew - you know, they know where many of those incredible people are. Where they're buried along roads, along highways, along paths, usually, because our soldiers were moving back and forth and they had to move rapidly. It's very sad. But he knew. And that was brought up at the very end. And you know, it was really great that he was able to do it. A lot of people are going to be very happy about that.
Yes. Go ahead, please.
Q Thank you, Mr. President.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.
Q Emerald Robinson, One America News. Congratulations.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you for the nice way you treat us. We appreciate it. Really, it's very good. It's really beautiful what you do. Go ahead.
Q So you -
THE PRESIDENT: And now I'll probably get this killer question.
Q (Laughs.) Well, I do want to talk about the future of North Korea.
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah. It's all right.
Q Specifically the people are - Kim Jong Un is saying he's wanting a brighter future with prosperity for his people, yet we know they've lived under oppression. You showed him this video of what the future can be like. But do you have an idea specifically of the model that you would like to go towards? Economically, is he open to more economic freedom?
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah, it's a good question. So you saw a tape today, and that, I think, was done really well. But that was done at the highest level of future development. I told him, you may not want this. You may want to do a much smaller version of this. I mean, you're going to do something. But you may want to do a smaller version. You may not want that with the trains and the everything. You know, it's super - everything the top. And maybe you won't want that. It's going to be up to them. It's going to be up to them. It's going to be up to the people what they want. They may not want that. I can understand that too.
But that was a version of what could happen, what could take place. As an example, they have great beaches. You see that whenever they're exploding their cannons into the ocean, right? I said, "Boy, look at the view. Wouldn't that make a great condo behind?" And I explained, I said, "You know, instead of doing that, you could have the best hotels in the world right there." Think of it from a real estate perspective. You have South Korea, you have China, and they own the land in the middle. How bad is that, right? It's great. But I told him, I said, you may not want to do what's there. You may want to do a smaller version of it or - you know. And that could be.
Although, I tell you what - he looked at that tape, he looked at that iPad, and I'm telling you they really enjoyed it, I believe. Okay?
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