Second nuclear summit...

Trump defends North Korea progress as second nuclear summit edges closer

By CAITLIN OPRYSKO

President Donald Trump on Thursday defended himself against complaints that his negotiations with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have yielded few steps toward denuclearization, saying ahead of a potential second summit that he sees “much potential” for progress.

“The Fake News Media loves saying ‘so little happened at my first summit with Kim Jong Un.’ Wrong!” he wrote in a pair of tweets, listing off accomplishments like sustained diplomatic relations with the isolated nation.

He credited his first summit with pulling the U.S. back from the brink of a “major war” with North Korea — a prospect at times egged on by Trump — as well as negotiating the return of U.S. prisoners there and the remains of Korean War veterans. He also praised North Korea for pausing its nuclear and missile tests: “no more Rockets or M’s being fired over Japan or anywhere else and, most importantly, no Nuclear Testing.”

“This is more than has ever been accomplished with North Korea, and the Fake News knows it," he claimed. “I expect another good meeting soon, much potential!”

The White House announced last week that Trump would hold a second summit with Kim near the end of February, and said the location would be disclosed at a later date. In the meantime, a think tank report released Monday revealed another undeclared missile site, one of 20, it said.

The report renewed criticisms that during Trump’s first summit with Kim, the two never developed a concrete road map for denuclearization. The Trump administration has emphasized that they are in for a lengthy process, but Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday brushed off the idea that the U.S. is unaware of the undeclared sites.

“Let me start by saying the American people should rest assured that that the United States understands deeply what's taking place in North Korea. Sometimes things pop in press reports and folks act like it's news,” he said in an interview on Fox News. “The American people should understand that the United States intelligence community and our security apparatus knows full well what activities are taking place and frankly which ones aren't.”

But he expressed hope that when Trump and Kim meet at the end of next month, the two can “make a substantial step along the way” to denuclearization.