Mentioningwhat happened in Libya, Trump said, “That model would take place if we don’tmake a deal.”
--- Trump tells NK’s Kim to denuclearize or risk overthrow By LOLITA C. BALDOR and ZEKE MILLER WASHINGTON —May 17, 2018, 3:44 PM ET WASHINGTON(AP) — President Donald Trump laid out a stark choice for North Korea’s KimJong Un ahead of their planned summit next month: Abandon nuclear weapons andbe rewarded with “protections,” or risk being overthrown and possible death ifthe arsenal remains. Trumpmaintained the scheduled June 12 meeting in Singapore is on track, despite theNorth’s threat Wednesday to cancel over concerns about the U.S. push to see thecomplete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. TheNorth has argued it needs its nuclear weapons to preserve its security, and hasexpressed concerns about giving up its nuclear program. The North cites theexample of former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, who died at the hands of rebelforces amid a popular uprising in October 2011; he had given up his nuclearprogram in the 2000s. NationalSecurity Adviser John Bolton explicitly cited “the Libya model of 2003-2004” asa basis for the North Korea talks last month, which drew personal rebuke fromthe North Korean government Wednesday. Tryingto address the North Korean concerns, the president said if Kim were to agreeto denuclearize, “he’ll get protections that would be very strong.” ButTrump warned that failure to make a deal could have grave consequences for Kim.Mentioning what happened in Libya, Trump said, “That model would take place ifwe don’t make a deal.” “TheLibyan model isn’t the model we have at all. In Libya we decimated thatcountry.” Trump added. “There was no deal to keep Gadhafi.” Trumpsaid he is “willing to do a lot” to provide security guarantees to Kim. “Thebest thing he could do is make a deal.” Trumpalso suggested China was influencing North Korea’s thinking regarding thesummit, pointing to Kim’s visit to China immediately before Secretary of StateMike Pompeo visited Pyongyang last week to finalize the summit date andlocation. Trumpsaid Thursday that nothing has changed with respect to North Korea after thewarning from Pyongyang. He said North Korean officials are discussinglogistical details about the meeting with the U.S. “as if nothing happened.” Inaddition to threatening to pull out of the meeting with Trump, the Northabruptly canceled a planned meeting with South Korean officials over jointU.S.-South Korean military exercises. Pentagonspokeswoman Dana White said Thursday that the schedule of military exerciseshasn’t changed. She added the annual exercises are long-planned, defensive in natureand meant to ensure the readiness of U.S. and South Korean forces. ExerciseMax Thunder began Monday and concludes May 25. It includes aircraft from acrossthe U.S. military services. Last year’s exercise included roughly 1,200 U.S.personnel and about 640 South Koreans. This year’s drill is similar. Speakingat an Oval Office meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, Trumpalso said he will not discuss U.S. troop levels in South Korea during hismeeting with Kim. TheNorth has said it won’t return to talks with Seoul due to the exercises. ___Associated Press writer Ken Thomascontributed to this report.
