Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump said Tuesday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has "kept his word" when it comes to nuclear and missile testing, contradicting his own national security adviser, John Bolton, who just hours earlier had accused Pyongyang of failing to follow through on its commitments.

Speaking to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House, Trump said he had received a warm letter from Kim before again downplaying North Korea's latest test of a short-range ballistic missile -- a move Bolton and acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan have said violated UN resolutions

"He kept his word. There's no nuclear testing. There's no large, there's no long-range missiles going up. The only things he's set up were very short term, short range. That was just a test of short range. It's a whole different deal, but he's kept his word to me. That's very important," the President said.

Earlier Tuesday, Bolton had told the Wall Street Journal at a speaking event in Washington that North Korea is not complying with the terms agreed upon during Trump's first summit with Kim, in Singapore last year.

"What they've said was that they're not going to test ballistic missiles, intercontinental range ballistic missiles, or have nuclear tests. That's continued. They're doing a lot of other things that still indicate that they have not made a strategic decision to give up the pursuit of deliverable weapons, which is why we continue the maximum pressure campaign," Bolton said.

In May, Bolton said that "there is no doubt" the tests violated the UN resolutions, something Shanahan has also said publicly.

But that conclusion is at odds with Trump's own assertions.

"My people think it could have been a violation," Trump said in May. "I view it differently."

The President added that he thinks Kim could be a man "who wants to get attention," but said there are no nuclear tests or long-range missiles being fired, something he again pointed out Tuesday.

Trump claims remains 'keep coming back'

Trump also claimed Tuesday that the remains of US soldiers in North Korea "keep coming back," despite the US Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency telling CNN in May that the effort was suspended due to a lack of communication from North Korean officials following the second summit between the two leaders, in Hanoi, Vietnam, earlier this year.

"We have a very good relationship together," Trump said of Kim. "Now I can confirm it because of the letter I got yesterday, and I think something will happen that's going to be very positive. But in the meantime, we have our hostages back, the remains keep coming back, we have a relationship."

The return of American remains was part of the US-North Korea agreement reached during Kim and Trump's Singapore summit.

Following the summit, North Korea handed over 55 cases of presumed remains of US service members killed during the 1950-53 Korean War.

"DPRK officials have not communicated with DPAA since the Hanoi summit," Chuck Prichard, a spokesman for the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, said in May.

"As a result, our efforts to communicate with the Korean People's Army regarding the possible resumption of joint recovery operations for 2019 has been suspended," he added.

'I wouldn't let that happen'

Trump would not confirm reports that Kim Jong Un's half brother was a CIA asset Tuesday but said he would tell Kim that "would not happen under my auspice."

"I saw the information about the CIA with respect to his brother or half brother and I would tell him that would not happen under my auspice, that's for sure. I wouldn't let that happen under my auspices," he said when asked about details published by the Wall Street Journal

The CIA operative claims are also described in a book by Washington Post reporter Anna Fifield published on Tuesday. "The Great Successor," about Kim Jong Un, details meetings between Kim Jong Nam and his handlers in the two countries. The CIA has declined to comment to CNN.

When asked if the CIA was wrong to use Kim's half-brother as an asset if it did indeed do so, Trump said: "I don't know anything about that. I know this, that the relationship is such that that wouldn't happen under my auspices, but I don't know about that. Nobody knows."

JUST WATCHED WSJ: Kim Jong Un's slain half-brother was CIA source Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH WSJ: Kim Jong Un's slain half-brother was CIA source 01:19

Without going into specifics on the contents on the letter he had gotten from Kim, Trump said receiving it solidified the fact he has a good relationship with the North Korean leader, a claim he has repeatedly made over the past year.

"I just received a beautiful letter from Kim Jong Un ... I appreciated the letter," the President said.

When asked whether there would be a third summit with Kim, Trump said he hoped so but did not want to get ahead of progress.

Last month, Trump said he still believes North Korea "would like to make a deal" and left the door open for a third summit despite a new warning from Pyongyang urging the US to change the course of its negotiations "before it is too late."

"I think they would like to make a deal and we would like to make a deal," the President told reporters during his recent visit to Ireland, adding that he looks forward to seeing Kim "at the appropriate time." </s> President Trump said Friday he has received a “beautiful” letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the midst of renewed tensions.

“It was a very positive letter,” Mr. Trump said of the three-page, handwritten note. “I think we’ll have another meeting. He really wrote a beautiful letter. Maybe I’ll release the results of the letter, but it was very positive.”

Mr. Trump told reporters at the White House that the believes he and Mr. Kim will have another meeting. The letter hand-delivered Thursday comes after North Korea has launched a series of short-range missile tests.

Mr. Kim has conducted the tests in an apparent response to renewed joint military exercises by the U.S. and South Korea.

The president and Mr. Kim have held two summits aimed at denuclearizing North Korea, and they held an impromptu meeting this summer at the demilitarized zone between the North and South.

Mr. Trump did reveal that Mr. Kim conveyed his unhappiness about the joint military exercises in South Korea.

“He wasn’t happy with the war games, it’s a very small testing that we did,” Mr. Trump said. “He put that in the letter. I don’t like it, either.”

But the president said he agreed to the exercises because they involve South Korean forces taking over certain responsibilities from the U.S. military in the region.

“In the meantime, I say it again, there have been no nuclear tests,” he said of the North. “The missile tests have all been short-range, no ballistic missile tests, no long-range missiles.” </s> President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he has received another “beautiful letter” from Kim Jong Un and expressed openness to holding a third summit with the North Korean leader.

Indicating that he continues to trust Kim, despite making little progress in efforts to get Pyongyang to give up nuclear weapons, Trump said the North Korean strongman “has kept his word.”

“That’s very important to me,” he said at the White House.

Trump did not divulge what was in the letter from Kim. He has described previous letters as “beautiful” and even said that he and the leader of one of the world’s most repressive countries “fell in love.”

Trump has made history by meeting twice with Kim in a bid to lure North Korea into giving up nuclear weapons. However, US intelligence officials say Pyongyang has no intention of following through.

Despite widespread perceptions that the last summit, held in Hanoi in February, was a failure, Trump said he would be open to an eventual third meeting.

“It could happen but I want to bring it further down the line,” Trump said.

White House national security adviser John Bolton is also backing a new summit.

“We’re ready when they are,” he told The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday. </s> WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Friday that he received a "beautiful" three-page letter from Kim Jong Un and predicted that the two leaders would have more talks to try resolving the standoff over North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

Trump has said he's not bothered by the flurry of missiles that Kim has launched in recent days, rattling U.S. allies in the region. The president said they were all short-range missiles and reiterated that North Korea has never broken its pledge to pause nuclear tests.

Trump said Kim told him in the letter that he was upset about recent U.S.-South Korea military exercises, which North Korea sees as a threat.

The two leaders have met three times — in Singapore, Hanoi and the Korean Demilitarized Zone late last month — but no new talks have been scheduled. At their second meeting in Vietnam in February, Trump rejected Kim's demand for widespread sanctions relief in return for dismantling the North's main nuclear complex, a partial disarmament step.

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FILE - In this Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019, file photo, U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi. Trump said he walked away from his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un because Kim demanded the U.S. lift all of its sanctions, a claim that North Korea's delegation called a rare news conference in the middle of the night to deny. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci, File)

Trump said he'd received the letter on Thursday. "It was hand-delivered. It wasn't touched by anybody," Trump told reporters on Friday at the White House.

"It was a very positive letter. I think we'll have another meeting. He really wrote a beautiful, three-page letter ... a really beautiful letter." </s> President Donald Trump said on Friday he had just received a “very beautiful letter” from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and added that he could have another meeting with him.

Speaking to reporters, Trump did not say when such a meeting might take place. North Korea has been testing missiles despite a June 30 meeting between Trump and Kim at which the two agreed to revive stalled working-level talks, which have yet to resume.

Trump told reporters at the White House the letter was hand-delivered on Thursday, but did not say who delivered it.

“It was a very positive letter,” he said. “I think we’ll have another meeting. He really wrote a beautiful, three-page – I mean great from top to bottom – a really beautiful letter.”

Trump and Kim have met three times since last year to discuss ways to resolve a crisis over North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, but progress has been scant on Washington’s aim of getting the North Korea leader to give up his weapons.

Trump said Kim had said he was “not happy” about the missile tests, which the North Korean leader has said were a response to US-South Korean military drills being held this month. Trump said he himself had “never been a fan” of the war games.

“You know why? I don’t like paying for it. We should be reimbursed for it and I have told that to South Korea.

“But I said, ‘do this,’ because this is a big test; this was a turnover of various areas to South Korea. I like that, because that’s what should happen.”

Trump will have dismayed long-time US ally South Korea with renewed criticisms over military alliance cost-sharing, while praising Kim. In rambling comments to journalists, Trump also took aim at another key ally, Japan, which is currently engaged in a damaging feud with South Korea.

“I hope that South Korea and Japan start getting along with each other. You know, they’re supposed to be allies,” he said.

“It puts us in a very difficult position, South Korea and Japan and fighting all the time. They’ve got to get along.”

The recent North Korean missile tests raised questions about the future of dialogue. Trump, keen to tout his North Korea policy as a success ahead of his 2020 reelection bid, has played them down, saying they do not violate Kim’s pledge to forego nuclear and long-range tests.

As well as launching short-range missiles, Pyongyang has warned of a possible end to its freeze of nuclear and long-range missile tests in place since 2017, which Trump has repeatedly pointed to as evidence of the success of more than a year of engagement with Kim.

North Korea has complained that US-South Korea military drills violate a pledge by Trump to Kim. At their first summit in Singapore in June last year, Trump pledged a suspension of major military exercises with South Korea.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday he was hopeful talks would resume with North Korea in coming weeks and that the US side was planning for negotiations in a couple of weeks.

A summit between Trump and Kim in Hanoi in February collapsed as the sides did not narrow differences over US demands for North Korea to give up all its nuclear weapons and Pyongyang’s demands for relief from punishing sanctions.

Despite the lack of progress and spikes in tensions, Trump and Kim have avoided direct criticism of each other and have exchanged periodic letters in between their summit meetings.

While Trump has hailed his personal relationship with Kim, critics say the US president’s approach has allowed North Korea further time to develop its weapons programs with little tangible gain for the United States. </s> US President Donald Trump says he has received a warm letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, calling the correspondence “beautiful”.

“I think that something will happen that’s going to be very positive,” he told reporters at the White House, but gave no details. Washington is seeking to rebuild momentum in stalled talks with Pyongyang aimed at getting North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons program. Mr Trump and Kim last met early this year in Hanoi but failed to reach a denuclearisation agreement.

Mr Trump spoke a day after the Wall Street Journal reported that Kim’s slain half-brother, Kim Jong-nam, was a source for the US Central Intelligence Agency.

Kim Jong-nam was killed at the airport in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2017. “I did receive a beautiful letter from Kim Jong-un … I appreciated the letter. I saw the information about CIA with respect to his brother, or half-brother. And I will tell him that will not happen under my … I wouldn’t let that happen.

“A very warm, very nice letter,” Mr Trump said. “I think North Korea has tremendous potential.”

MORE: Strange North Korean town no one visits

He did not rule out another meeting soon with Kim. Mr Trump is due to travel to Japan and South Korea later this month.

Mr Trump said Kim had thus far kept his promises not to test long-range ballistic missiles or conduct underground nuclear tests.

In May, North Korea conducted a “strike drill” for multiple launchers, firing tactical guided weapons in a military drill supervised by Kim.

Mr Trump said at the time that these launches did not pose a problem in his eyes, although his advisers called them a violation of UN Security Council resolutions. </s> WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump cosied up anew to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Tuesday (Jun 11), praising a "beautiful" letter he received from Kim and appearing to take a public stance against the CIA spying on him.

Trump told reporters at the White House, "I think that something will happen that's going to be very positive," but gave no details.

Washington is seeking to rebuild momentum in stalled talks with Pyongyang, aimed at getting North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons programme. Trump and Kim last met early this year in Hanoi but failed to reach a denuclearisation agreement.

Trump spoke a day after the Wall Street Journal reported that Kim's slain half-brother, Kim Jong Nam, was a source for the US Central Intelligence Agency. Kim Jong Nam was killed at the airport in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2017.

"I did receive a beautiful letter from Kim Jong Un ... I appreciated the letter," Trump said. "I saw the information about the CIA with respect to his brother, or half-brother. And I would tell him that would not happen under my auspices."

Trump, who has described previous correspondence from Kim as "beautiful letters," said the most recent one was a "very warm, very nice letter." He repeated that he believes North Korea has "tremendous potential."

After exchanging insults and war-like rhetoric with Kim early in his presidency, Trump in the past year has repeatedly praised him. They have held two summits as Trump tries to convert what he feels is a warm personal relationship into a diplomatic breakthrough.

Trump did not rule out another meeting with Kim. He is due to travel to Japan and South Korea later this month.

Trump said Kim had thus far kept his promises not to test long-range ballistic missiles or conduct underground nuclear tests.

"He's kept his word to me. That's very important," said Trump.

In May, North Korea conducted a "strike drill" for multiple launchers, firing tactical guided weapons in a military drill supervised by Kim.

Trump said at the time that those launches did not pose a problem in his eyes, although his advisers called them a violation of UN Security Council resolutions. </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> Washington DC [USA], Jun 12 (ANI): US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he received a "very beautiful" and "very warm" letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un amid the stalled nuclearisation">denuclearisation negotiations between the two countries.

Calling the letter "very nice", Trump again highlighted his personal relationship with Kim and exuded confidence that an agreement could be eventually reached between the two sides.

"We have a very good relationship together," The Hill quoted Trump as saying while speaking to reporters at the White House.

The US President said that a third meeting with Kim could take place and said that Kim had "kept his word" and "that's very important to me."

Trump is set to attend the G-20 summit in Japan later this month and is scheduled to meet South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

Talks between the two countries hit a roadblock after the second summit in Vietnam ended abruptly with no joint statement being released. The two sides reportedly failed to resolve their differences on sanction waivers.

No signs of thaw can be seen as yet, especially after North Korea tested multiple short-range missiles last month as a sign of their apparent frustration over the stalled negotiations and continuing sanctions.

Pyongyang has repeatedly insisted that the removal of penalties will help spur economic growth, whereas Washington has reaffirmed that sanctions will not be removed till the communist country completely stopped its nuclear weapons programme. (ANI)
U.S. President Donald Trump says he received a "beautiful", "very warm and very nice" letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. He added that Kim is "keeping his word" and not testing any kind of missiles. Earlier at a speaking event in Washington, National Security Adviser John Bolton said North Korea is not complying with the terms agreed upon during Trump's first summit with Kim in Singapore last year.