Donald Trump, Moon Jae-in

“ Here in South Korea, the people built a free, sovereign, and democratic republic. Through their resilience and sacrifice and determination, they became the chief architects of the future. Today, the course of this great nation is charted solely by the free people of South Korea. ”

“ Today, the President and I had an opportunity to talk about a range of vital economic and security matters, including our trade relationship and our joint efforts to solve North Korea’s grave nuclear threat to South Korea and, indeed, the entire world. This is a worldwide problem.
The Republic of Korea is more than a longstanding ally of the United States. We are partners and friends who have fought side-by-side in a war, and, really, worked very hard and prospered toward a great and lasting peace. ”

“ Korea faces the task of making this world a better place through cooperation with a great America.
Korea has worked with the United States for peace and reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan. We are also working hand-in-hand with the United States to realize the common values of humanity, such as human rights and the eradication of poverty. I believe that making such joint efforts will make the ROK-U.S. alliance an even greater alliance as President Trump and I have agreed to do last June, and, at the same time, make America even greater. ”

“ North Korea’s sixth test of a nuclear device and its missile launches are a threat not only to the people of South Korea but to the people all across our globe. We will together confront North Korea’s actions and prevent the North Korean dictator from threatening millions of innocent lives. ”

“ But there’s a good chance that we’ll have the meeting.
Q Mr. President, if I could ask you and President Moon this question. In terms of denuclearization, should it be an all-in-one? Or could it be incremental, with incentives along the way for Kim Jong-un to denuclearize?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, all in one would be nice, I can tell you. I’m not going to go beyond that. It would certainly be better if it were all in one. Does it have to be? I don’t think I want to totally commit myself. But all in one would be a lot better. ”

“ So I hope that your visit to Korea and to the Asia Pacific region will serve as an opportunity to relieve some of the anxiety that the Korean people have due to North Korea’s provocations, and also serve as a turning point in resolving the North Korean nuclear issue.
The Korean people welcome you as one, and we have great expectations. ”

“ North Korea is a worldwide threat that requires worldwide action. We call on every responsible nation, including China and Russia, to demand that the North Korean regime end its nuclear weapons and its missile programs, and live in peace. ”

“ It’s a great honor to have President Moon of South Korea with us. We’ve become great friends over the years. And it’s now — we’ve now known each other for quite some time.
We’re working on many things. Obviously, North Korea is the big one. No matter how big trade is, North Korea, in this case, is the big one. And we’ll be discussing that. We’ll also be discussing trade. We have a very big trade arrangement that we’re renegotiating right now with South Korea. They’ve been excellent people to work with for the Trump administration. And we will have some pretty good news, I think, on trade. ”

“ The two leaders agreed that the unprecedented pressure applied by the United States, the Republic of Korea, and the international community through the global Maximum Pressure Campaign has led to this significant moment. President Trump and President Moon emphasized that a peaceful and prosperous future for North Korea is contingent upon its complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization. ”

“ So I have tremendous confidence in President Moon. And I think that his way — the way he is — really is helping us to potentially make a deal. Whether the deal gets made or not, who knows. It’s a deal. Who knows. You never know about deals. If you go into deals that are 100 percent certain, it doesn’t happen. If you go into deals that have no chance, and it happens, and sometimes happens easily. ”

“ All nations must implement U.N. Security Council regulations and cease trade and business entirely with North Korea. It is unacceptable that nations would help to arm and finance this increasingly dangerous regime.
As we work together to resolve this problem using all available tools short of military action, the United States stands prepared to defend itself and its allies using the full range of our unmatched military capabilities if need be. ”

“ When you’re losing $500 billion a year, you can’t lose in terms of a negotiation. It’s really easy to win. But I want this to be a great deal for the United States, and I want it to be a very good deal for China, too, if that’s possible. ”

“ PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, thank you very much. And this is an exciting time, and we’re going to have an exciting day tomorrow, for many reasons that people will find out, in addition to the fact I look forward to making a — hopefully — very comprehensive speech before you and the leaders of Korea. And that will be really something that I’m representing the American people. The relationship that we have is a fantastic one. ”

“ You know, you’re talking about numbers like that; you’re talking about billions of dollars a week. Okay? So when they say, “Oh, let’s meet in a couple of weeks” — oh, that’s $2 billion, right? I view it that way. You know, we’re talking about billions of dollars a week that we suffer, we lose. And so we’re looking to go quickly.
I will say I’m a little disappointed, because when Kim Jong-un had the meeting with President Xi, in China, the second meeting — the first meeting we knew about — the second meeting — I think there was a little change in attitude from Kim Jong-un. ”

“ The crucial U.S. security partnership with South Korea is just one aspect of our enduring alliance. We also share deep partnerships on a range of issues, from cultural exchange to cutting-edge advances in science and medicine, and the very important issue of trade. ”

“ I believe that you would have the even more heavier heart because you were traveling overseas when this happened. On behalf of the Korean government and the Korean people, I would like to convey my heartfelt condolences to you, Mr. President, and the American people. ”

“ Q President Trump, I’m a reporter from South Korea. If North Korea and Kim Jong-un decide CVID, will you literally guarantee the safety of the regime of North Korea?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: I will guarantee his safety. Yes, we will guarantee his safety. And we’ve talked about that from the beginning. He will be safe. He will be happy. His country will be rich. His country will be hardworking and very prosperous. They’re very great people. They’re hardworking, great people.
Look at what happened with South Korea. Don’t forget, we helped South Korea. ”

“ As true partners, we have remained faithful friends through periods of challenge and opportunity. And that’s what we have now, is great opportunity. We will continue to support each other in the years ahead. ”

“ You’re going to have a very, very successful North Korea, and you’re going to have a very successful — and you already do — South Korea. I mean, South Korea was in condition that was as bad as North Korea many years ago, when they started this great experiment that worked out so well for them. ”

“ So what are your feelings about such talks as you visited the Pyeongtaek base?
And another question I have is that people have concerns about Korea passing, although a lot of that has gone away. People are still concerned that Korea may be neglected in diplomacy. So what are your views on the Korea passing? Can you just say for sure, for certain, that Korea passing no longer exists for the Korean people?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: I’ll start off with your second. South Korea — Republic of Korea, Korea — is very important to me. ”

“ By shutting them down, we’re hurting a lot of American companies, really good American companies. Don’t — and I will tell you, don’t think that we didn’t hear from them by shutting down this massive phone company. ”

“ We can do a 301. We can do — where we don’t need China, where we can just say, look, this is what we want, this is what we think is fair. That’s always a possibility if a negotiated deal doesn’t work out. ”