Trump announces he is 'not in a rush' for North Korea to denuclearize

President Donald Trump told U.S. state governors at the White House on Sunday he was happy so long as North Korea continues its pause in weapons testing.

Trump, who was speaking on the eve of his departure for his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam, also said that he believed he saw eye to eye with Kim and that they had developed “a very, very good relationship.”

The two leaders will meet in Hanoi on Wednesday and Thursday, eight months after their historic summit in Singapore, the first between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader, where they pledged to work toward the complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

But their vaguely worded agreement has produced few results and U.S. Democratic senators and security officials have warned Trump against cutting a deal that would do little to curb North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.

“I’m not in a rush. I don’t want to rush anybody,” Trump said. “I just don’t want testing. As long as there’s no testing, we’re happy.”

The Trump administration has pressed the North to give up its nuclear weapons program, which combined with its missile capabilities, pose a threat to the United States, before it can expect any concessions.

But in recent days, Trump has signaled a possible softening, saying he would love to be able to remove sanctions if there is meaningful progress on denuclearization.

Reporting by Mike Stone and Sarah N. Lynch; Writing by Tomasz Janowski; Editing by Peter Cooney