North Korea praises Trump for shift in policy toward the country

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 1:39 PM PT — Friday, September 20, 2019
North Korea’s top diplomat to the U.S. recently praised President Trump for what appeared to be a shift in policy toward the country. This comes after the president was critical of former National Security Adviser John Bolton, and suggested a “new method” in denuclearization talks with Pyongyang.“I think John really should take a look at how badly they’ve done in the past and maybe a new method would be very good,” said President Trump.North Korea’s top nuclear negotiator released a statement Friday, saying he welcomes what he described as a “wise political decision by President Trump” to approach relations from a more practical point of view. He then knocked Bolton as a “nasty trouble-maker” for insisting Pyongyang follow the Libyan path of denuclearization by fully eliminating its nuclear program upfront.President Trump also slammed Bolton for his approach. He said Bolton set the U.S. back after the Trump administration worked to strengthen relations with North Korea, which led to Pyongyang releasing hostages and returning the remains of U.S. service members who died in the Korean War.“The relationship is good, so I think that’s better than somebody that goes around and says we want to use ‘the Libyan model’…that set us back very badly when he (Bolton) said that,” explained the president.President Trump said he has received an invitation to visit Pyongyang for talks with Kim Jong-un. The North Korean diplomat went on to say he hopes the U.S. would present the right calculated method at the next round of talks.FILE – In this June 30, 2019, file photo, U.S. President Donald Trump, left, meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the North Korean side of the border at the village of Panmunjom in Demilitarized Zone. North Korea on Friday, Sept. 20, 2019, has praised President Donald Trump for saying Washington may pursue an unspecified “new method” in nuclear negotiations with Pyongyang. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)