
US President Donald Trump has said "we got along right from the beginning" of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.
The comment was made to the Voice of America's Greta Van Susteren after Trump's summit meeting with Kim on Tuesday. Trump gushed some more about Kim in the interview to VoA.
"Really, he’s got a great personality. He’s a funny guy, he’s very smart, he’s a great negotiator. He loves his people, not that I’m surprised by that, but he loves his people. And I think that we have the start of an amazing deal. We’re going to denuke North Korea," Trump told Susteren.
Susteren of course asked Trump if he was certain about his choice of words. Did Kim really "love his people" considering how many he had starved and brutalised?
Trump covered for Kim by telling Susteren: “Look, he’s doing what he’s seen done, if you look at it. But, I really have to go by today and by yesterday and by a couple of weeks ago because that’s really when this whole thing started."
The "we got along right from the beginning" had come in reply to a question about whether Trump or Kim had given each other ultimatums. Trump said there hadn't been one from either side.
“No, not an ultimatum. We’ve been dealing for three months really and we’ve been dealing through our various representatives including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who’s done a really fantastic job. So we’ve been dealing for a pretty good period of time and when we met today, we got along right from the beginning," Trump said.
Commentators however have said Trump was outfoxed in Singapore. And that while Trump has put a stop to the US's military exercises with South Korea — which the commentators add will blunt US and South Korean troops' preparedness for war — North Korea has in return given very little.
They add that Kim might have told Trump North Korea is willing to "denuclearise" but that the country has been saying saying that since 1992.
Trump told Susteren American troops would continue to be stationed in South Korea but that the "war games" are going to stop because they "cost a fortune".
"We are going to get out of the war games that cost so much money. You know where we — cause I think number one, it’s very provocative, and I want to do it, and I think they’re very happy about it because it is so provocative. But it cost a fortune to do it. And we won’t do that as long as we are negotiating in good faith,” Trump said.
Trump went on to say of Kim: "I think he liked me and I like him. And I understand the past and, you know, nobody has to tell me, he’s a rough guy. He has to be a rough guy or he has been a rough person. But we got along very well. He’s smart, loves his people, he loves his country. He wants a lot of good things and that’s why he’s doing this.”
Susteren also asked Trump what he wanted to say "directly to the citizens of North Korea”.
“Well, I think you have somebody that has a great feeling for them. He wants to do right by them and we got along really well. We had a great chemistry — you understand how I feel about chemistry. It’s very important. I mean, I know people where there is no chemistry no matter what you do you just don’t have it. We had it right from the beginning, I talked about that and I think great things are going to happen for North Korea,” Trump replied.