WASHINGTON — Vice-President Mike Pence is postponing a planned trip to Brazil this month as President Donald Trump prepares for a historic meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

The vice-president had been expected to visit Brazil in late May. But his office says the trip is being postponed to avoid pulling national security resources away from Trump’s planned meeting with Kim.

Trump has not yet announced a date or location for the meeting. But he has said he favours holding the meeting at the Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Korea.

Pence’s office says by remaining in the U.S. the vice-president will be able to support the president and the national security team as the North Korean meeting approaches. Trump is pushing to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula. </s> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Mike Pence will meet on Saturday with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the sidelines of the Summit of the Americas in Lima, Peru, a White House official said on Thursday.

The meeting comes amid efforts to renegotiate the North America Free Trade Agreement. U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier on Thursday the talks were “coming along great” and “we’re getting pretty close to a deal.”

Trump had been scheduled to attend the Americas summit but decided this week to send Pence instead so he could remain in the United States to focus on formulating a U.S. response to a suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria last weekend. </s> WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on President Donald Trump canceling his planned summit with North Korea (all times local):

A Republican senator often critical of Donald Trump says the president “made the right call” in canceling a summit with North Korea’s leader.

Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska says Kim Jong Un is a “murderous despot and habitual liar.” Sasse is often critical of Trump but is siding with the president on his decision Thursday to pull out of the summit that had been planned for June 12 in Singapore.

Trump cited recent aggressive statements from Kim’s government for his decision to cancel the meeting.

Sasse adds in a statement that if North Korea wants diplomacy, “it should know that half-measures and spin about its nuclear program won’t cut it.”

Sasse is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee,

The U.N. chief says he is “deeply concerned” by the cancellation of the planned summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un.

Antonio Guterres told an audience at the University of Geneva on Thursday that he was urging the parties to keep working “to find a path to the peaceful and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”

Guterres’ comments came as he laid out his disarmament agenda, warning that nuclear agreements between states have been threatened like never before.

Trump announced Thursday that he was canceling the June 12 summit in Singapore with Kim following hostile comments. Overnight, Kim’s government threatened nuclear confrontation and called Vice President Mike Pence a “political dummy.”

House Speaker Paul Ryan says achieving a peaceful resolution to the nuclear standoff on the Korean Peninsula will require “a much greater degree of seriousness” from Kim Jong Un.

President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he has canceled a June 12 summit in Singapore with the North Korean leader, citing hostile comments from Kim. Overnight, Kim’s government threatened nuclear confrontation and called Vice President Mike Pence a “political dummy.”

Ryan says in a statement Thursday that Kim’s government has long given ample reason to question its commitment to stability.

The Republican says that, until a peaceful resolution is achieved, Congress has provided “significant tools” to hold North Korea accountable.

Ryan says the U.S. must continue the “maximum pressure” campaign that Trump and others say brought North Korea to the table in the first place.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says North Korea did not respond to repeated requests from U.S. officials to discuss logistics for the now-canceled summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Pompeo told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday that the lack of response was an additional reason for Trump’s decision to call off the meeting. Trump cited recent bellicose comments from the North in a letter to Kim released by the White House.

Pompeo says: “We had received no response to our inquiries from them.”

Pompeo says the North’s attitude changed markedly since he returned from a trip to Pyongyang earlier this month, when he met with Kim and secured the release of three American prisoners being held there.

A senior Democratic senator says President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from a planned summit with North Korea shows the consequence of his failure to prepare properly.

Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey said Thursday that the withdrawal shows “the art of diplomacy is a lot harder than the art of the deal.”

The top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee says it’s “pretty amazing” that Trump’s Republican administration would be shocked that North Korea “is acting as North Korea might very well normally act.”

He adds: “I’m not sure that constantly quoting the Libya model is the diplomatic way to try to get to the results that we seek in North Korea because that didn’t work out too well for Gadhafi.”

Menendez was speaking Thursday at a committee hearing attended by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

President Donald Trump says North Korea’s leader should not “hesitate to call me or write” if he changes his mind about their now-canceled summit.

Trump announced Thursday that he had canceled a summit planned with Kim Jong Un in Singapore on June 12.

Trump released a letter to Kim saying his decision was based on “the tremendous anger and open hostility” in Kim’s most recent statement. Trump did not explain what triggered his decision.

But in a statement, the North Korean government had referred to Vice President Mike Pence as a “political dummy” and said it is just as ready to meet in a nuclear confrontation as at the negotiating table.

But Trump tells Kim “please do not hesitate to call me or write” should he change his mind about a one-on-one meeting.

President Donald Trump is telling North Korea’s Kim Jong Un in a letter that the world is losing a “great opportunity for lasting peace and great prosperity and wealth” now that their summit has been canceled.

Trump on Thursday canceled the planned June 12 summit in Singapore with Kim, citing the “tremendous anger and open hostility” in a recent statement from North Korea.

In the statement, the North Korean government referred to Vice President Mike Pence as a “political dummy” and said it is just as ready to meet in a nuclear confrontation as at the negotiating table.

Trump says in the letter: “This missed opportunity is a truly sad moment in history.”

President Donald Trump is canceling the planned June 12 summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, citing the “tremendous anger and open hostility” in a recent statement from North Korea.

Trump says in a letter to Kim released Thursday by the White House that based on the statement, he felt it was “inappropriate, at this time, to have this long-planned meeting.”

The president says the North Koreans talk about their nuclear capabilities, “but ours are so massive and powerful that I pray to God they will never have to be used.” </s> March 4 (UPI) -- During a joke-filled speech at the annual Gridiron Club Dinner on Saturday night, President Donald Trump said that North Korea contacted the United States about possible talks.

"A couple days ago they said we would like to talk, and I said, so would we, but you have to de-nuke, you have to de-nuke. So let's see what happens," Trump said at the Renaissance Washington Hotel to more than 600 attendees, including journalists. "Maybe positive things are happening, I hope that's true ... We will be meeting and we'll see if anything positive happens."

Trump said: "I won't rule out direct talks with Kim Jong Un, I just won't. As far as the risk of dealing with a madman is concerned, that's his problem not mine."

After the 35-minute talk, the White House didn't say whether the president was joking.

In the past, Trump has said he's willing to talk to the regime's leader but the nation must commit to getting rid of its nuclear arsenal.

In October after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson revealed in Beijing that the United States had "lines of communication," but posted on Twitter: "I told Rex Tillerson, our wonderful Secretary of State, that he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man. Save your energy Rex, we'll do what has to be done!"

South Korean President Moon Jae-in announced Sunday he will send a special delegation to North Korea on Monday to discuss inter-Korean relations and possibility of dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence was planning a secret meeting with representatives of the regime at last month's Winter Olympics in South Korea, including Kim Jong Un's sister. But the North Koreans pulled out of the planned session.

"North Korea dangled a meeting in hopes of the vice president softening his message, which could have ceded the world stage for their propaganda during the Olympics," said Nick Ayers, Pence's chief of staff.

Pence attended the Gridiron Dinner, a white-tie affair, with several cabinet and family members.

Trump told the attendees that he calls Pence "the apprentice," and vice president "wakes up every morning and asks, has he been impeached yet."

Trump, returning from his resort Mar-a-Lago in South Florida on Saturday after a meeting with big Republican donors, poked fun of himself, saying "I told them not to worry, nobody does self-deprecating better than I do.

Hew also kidded about his wife Melania, his son-in-law Jared Kushner, his former top adviser Steve Bannon and senior Democrats. Also on hand was his daughter and senior adviser, Ivanka.

"So, who's going to be the next to leave? Steve Miller, or Melania? That's terrible," Trump said. "But you love me right, honey? She said, behave! By the way she has been an incredible first lady."

He continued: "I want to apologize for running a little late, as Jared could not get through security."

And he said he offered Attorney General Jeff Sessions a ride to the dinner, but "he recused himself."

Sessions, who was criticized by the president this past week on Twitter, was seated at the head table near Trump.

All presidents since 1885, except for Grover Cleveland, have accepted the club's invitation to attend at least one annual dinner. The entertainment includes comedy/song sketches form media members.

Last year, Trump didn't attend the Gridiron Club nor the White House Correspondents Association annual event.

In Trump's first post Sunday on Twitter, he tweeted: "The Gridiron Dinner last night was great fun. I am accomplishing a lot in Washington and have never had a better time doing something, and especially since this is for the American People!" </s> Washington, DC - Vice President Mike Pence met with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom. Both agreed that the strong partnership between the two countries was exemplified by our joint leadership in responding to the poisoning of a private citizen in Salisbury using chemical weapons and the allied airstrikes following the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime.

The Vice President emphasized the importance of ensuring that Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon, and that North Korea commits to verifiable denuclearization. Both welcomed the President’s upcoming visit to the United Kingdom in July and agreed to continue to work together to address geopolitical challenges. </s> Cairo: US Vice-President Mike Pence arrived in Cairo on Saturday, kicking off a trip to the Middle East overshadowed by tensions sparked by President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Pence’s four-day visit is the first by a senior US official to the Middle East since December 6, when Trump announced his plan to relocate the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. In Egypt, Pence was expected to meet with President Abdel Fattah al Sisi for talks on the Jerusalem decision, which Cairo has rejected. Pence and Sisi were also expected to discuss anti-terrorism cooperation. Egypt’s top Muslim and Christian leaders have cancelled meetings with Pence in protest of Trump’s move on Jerusalem. — dpa </s> US President Donald Trump has cancelled the planned June 12 summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un, citing the "tremendous anger and open hostility" in a recent statement from North Korea.

In a letter to the dictator released by the White House, Trump said, he felt it was "inappropriate, at this time, to have this long-planned meeting" based on the comments.

The president also said the North Koreans talk about their nuclear capabilities "but ours are so massive and powerful that I pray to God they will never have to be used".

He said in the letter that the world is losing a "great opportunity for lasting peace and great prosperity and wealth" now that the summit has been cancelled.

Trump added: "This missed opportunity is a truly sad moment in history."

In the statement cited by Trump, the North Korean government referred to Vice President Mike Pence as a "political dummy" and said it is just as ready to meet in a nuclear confrontation as at the negotiating table.

Trump told Kim "please do not hesitate to call me or write" should he change his mind about a one-on-one meeting. </s> U.S. President Donald Trump has cancelled next month’s summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

In a letter to Kim released Thursday morning, Trump said the face-to-face meeting, set to take place on June 12 in Singapore, was “inappropriate” to have “at this time.”

“Sadly, based on the tremendous anger and open hostility displayed in your most recent statement, I feel it is inappropriate, at this time, to have this long-planned meeting,” Trump wrote.

North Korea lashed out at the U.S. Thursday after Vice President Mike Pence repeated Trump’s Libya threat to Pyongyang – a reference to the 2011 U.S.-backed overthrow and murder of Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi.

In a statement from North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui, Pyongyang also protested U.S. demands that it unilaterally denuclearize without concession.

“U.S. Vice-President Pence has made unbridled and impudent remarks that North Korea might end like Libya, military option for North Korea never came off the table, the U.S. needs complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization, and so on,” Son-hui said. “As a person involved in the U.S. affairs, I cannot suppress my surprise at such ignorant and stupid remarks gushing out from the mouth of the U.S. vice-president.”

Pence’s remark came after Trump, attempting to distance himself from White House National Security Advisor John Bolton, confused Bolton’s reference to the Libyan disarmament of 2003 with the NATO campaign against the country in 2011.

“The model, if you look at that model with Gaddafi, that was a total decimation. We went in there to beat them,” Trump told reporters. “Now, that model would take place if we don’t make a deal, most likely.”

Bolton’s initial comments on the “Libya model” last week began the souring relations that led to the summit’s cancellation.

North Korea’s First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Kye Gwan similarly accused Bolton last Wednesday of endangering the current détente with “unbridled remarks.”

“World knows too well that our country is neither Libya nor Iraq which have met miserable fate. It is absolutely absurd to dare compare the DPRK, a nuclear weapon state, to Libya which had been at the initial stage of nuclear development,” Gwan wrote. “We shed light on the quality of Bolton already in the past, and we do not hide our feeling of repugnance towards him.”

Trump’s Thursday letter, which thanked North Korea for releasing three American hostages, also made an ominous reference to the U.S. nuclear arsenal.

“You talk about your nuclear capabilities, but ours are so massive and powerful that I pray to God they will never have to be used,” Trump wrote.

The president also left room open for the meeting to take place at another date and time.

“If you change your mind having to do with this most important summit, please do not hesitate to call me or write,” Trump wrote.

The decision reportedly came as a surprise to some administration officials, who felt North Korea’s comments were merely posturing and that Kim still was expected to attend.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, however, said North Korea failed to respond when reached to discuss logistics for the summit.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who was unaware of the plan to cancel, called an emergency meeting in Seoul at around midnight.

Reports claimed last week that the president became uneasy about the upcoming summit after North Korea expressed disagreement with U.S. demands.

News of the cancellation comes just hours after Pyongyang announced the closure of its nuclear test site at Punggye-ri.

Speaking in the Oval Office Thursday, Trump said the U.S. military was ready “if necessary” if conditions with North Korea continued to deteriorate. </s> Viewing his adversaries in the distance, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence traveled to the tense zone dividing North and South Korea and warned Pyongyang that after years of testing the U.S. and South Korea with its nuclear ambitions, "the era of strategic patience is over."

Pence made an unannounced visit to the Demilitarized Zone Monday at the start of his 10-day trip to Asia in a U.S. show of force that allowed the vice president to gaze at North Korean soldiers from afar and stare directly across a border marked by razor wire. As the brown bomber jacket-clad vice president was briefed near the military demarcation line, two North Korean soldiers watched from a short distance away, one taking multiple photographs of the American visitor.

Pence told reporters near the DMZ that President Donald Trump was hopeful China would use its "extraordinary levers" to pressure the North to abandon its weapons program, a day after the North's failed missile test launch. But Pence expressed impatience with the unwillingness of the regime to move toward ridding itself of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.

Pointing to the quarter-century since the United States first confronted North Korea over its attempts to build nuclear weapons, the vice president said a period of patience had followed.

"But the era of strategic patience is over," he declared. "President Trump has made it clear that the patience of the United States and our allies in this region has run out and we want to see change. We want to see North Korea abandon its reckless path of the development of nuclear weapons, and also its continual use and testing of ballistic missiles is unacceptable."

Later Monday, Pence reiterated in a joint statement alongside South Korean Acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn that "all options are on the table" to deal with threat and said any use of nuclear weapons by Pyongyang would be met with "an overwhelming and effective response." He said the American commitment to South Korea is "iron-clad and immutable."

Pointing to Trump's recent military actions in Syria and Afghanistan, Pence said, "North Korea would do well not to test his resolve," or the U.S. armed forces in the region.

The vice president earlier visited a military installation near the DMZ, Camp Bonifas, for a briefing with military leaders at the joint U.S.-South Korean installation, which is just outside the 2.5-mile (4.02-kilometer)-wide DMZ. Under rainfall, Pence later stood a few meters from the military demarcation line outside Freedom House, gazing at the North Korean soldiers across the border, and then peered at a deforested stretch of North Korea from a lookout post in the hillside.

Meanwhile, China made a plea for a return to negotiations. Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said Monday that tensions need to be eased on the Korean Peninsula to bring the escalating dispute there to a peaceful resolution. Lu said Beijing wants to resume the multi-party negotiations that ended in stalemate in 2009 and suggested that U.S. plans to deploy a missile defense system in South Korea were damaging its relations with China.

In Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, speaking to a parliamentary session Monday, said: "Needless to say, diplomatic effort is important to maintain peace. But dialogue for the sake of having dialogue is meaningless."

"We need to apply pressure on North Korea so they seriously respond to a dialogue" with the international community, he said, urging China and Russia to play more constructive roles on the issue.

Pence's visit, full of Cold War symbolism, came amid increasing tensions and heated rhetoric on the Korean Peninsula. While the North did not conduct a nuclear test, the specter of a potential test and an escalated U.S. response has trailed Pence as he undertakes his Asian tour.

Trump wrote Sunday on Twitter that China was working with the United States on "the North Korea problem." His national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, said the U.S. would rely on its allies as well as Chinese leadership to resolve the issues with North Korea.

McMaster cited Trump's recent decision to order missile strikes in Syria after a chemical attack blamed on the Assad government, as a sign that the president "is clearly comfortable making tough decisions." But at the same time, McMaster said on "This Week" on ABC that "it's time for us to undertake all actions we can, short of a military option, to try to resolve this peacefully."

The Trump administration is hoping that China will help rein in North Korea in exchange for other considerations. Last week, Trump said he would not declare China a currency manipulator, pulling back from a campaign promise, as he looked for help from Beijing, which is the North's dominant trade partner.
Vice President of the United States Mike Pence postpones his trip to Brazil to focus foreign policy resources on Donald Trump's planned meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.