Washington: US President Donald Trump said on Sunday, that he would like to see North Korea get involved in the upcoming Winter Olympics in neighbouring South Korea and hoped that the two Koreas take it to the next level.
Trump was responding to a question on the move in this regard between the two Koreans, who are scheduled to hold their first talks on Tuesday. The president said he had some role in it as he took a strong stand against the North Koreans.
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"I'd like to see them getting involved in the Olympics and maybe things go from there. So I'm behind that 100 percent," Trump told reporters at a news conference in Camp David, the picturesque presidential resort in Maryland.
"I spoke to the president, as you know, with President Moon Jae-in of South Korea. He thanked me very much for my tough stance and, you know, for 25 years they haven't been using a tough stance," Trump said.
Trump hoped that the two Koreans moved their relationship beyond just Olympics participation.
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"I hope they do. I would love to see them take it beyond the Olympics. We have a very good relationship with South Korea," he said.
"I would love to see it go far beyond the Olympics, absolutely. And at the appropriate time, we'll get involved. I like the idea of their dealing on the Olympics. That should be between those two countries," Trump said.
Trump has adopted a tough approach against North Korea and has very often slammed its leader Kim Jong-un over tweeter. In a tweet this year he told the North Korean leader that he has a bigger nuclear button than his works and that his nuclear button works.
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Responding to a question, Trump said he is open to the idea of talking with Kim Jong-un. "Are you, willing to engage and phone talks with Kim Jong right now," he was asked.
"Sure. I always believe in talking. Right now they're talking Olympics. It's a start. It's a big start. If we are not involved they wouldn't be talking about Olympics right now. They would be doing no talking. He (Kim Jong Un) knows I'm not messing around. I'm not messing around. Not even a little bit. Not even one percent. He understands that," he said.
(Also read: Donald Trump says willing to talk with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un)
"At the same time, if we can come up with a very peaceful and very good solution we're working on it with (Secretary of State) Rex (Tillerson). We're working on it with a lot of people. If something can happen and something can come out of those talks, that would be a great thing for all of humanity," he said.
"That would be a great thing for the world. Very important," Trump said.
