President Trump meets Kim Jong Un

By Veronica Rocha, Brian Ries, Ben Westcott, Meg Wagner and Amanda Wills, CNN

Updated 11:03 a.m. ET, June 12, 2018
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7:49 a.m. ET, June 12, 2018

5 key quotes from Trump's first post-summit interview

ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP/Getty Images
ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP/Getty Images

President Trump sat down with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos just after he wrapped up his historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

  • On Kim's promise to denuclearize: "He's de-nuking the whole place, and he's going to start very quickly. I think he's going to start now."
  • On trust: "He trusts me, I believe. I really do. He said openly and said it to a couple of reporters that were with him that he knows that no other president ever could have done this. I mean no other — he knows the presidents. He knows who we had in front of me. He said no other President could have done this. I think he trusts me and I trust him."
  • On Kim's ability to change: "Well, you know, over my lifetime I've done a lot of deals with a lot of people and sometimes the people that you most distrust turn out to be the most honorable ones, and the people you do trust, they are not the honorable ones"
  • On "war games": "We're not going to play the war games. You know, I wanted to stop the war games — I thought they were very provocative, but I think they're expensive."
  • On when Kim could visit the White House: "I want the process to start. I want to see some real work going on, which I believe I will, and I would love to have him at the White House."
7:33 a.m. ET, June 12, 2018

European Union: Trump-Kim summit is a "crucial" step towards peace

From CNN’s Nada Bashir

European Union foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini praised the "rewarding" diplomatic efforts involved in the summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

She called the historic meeting a "crucial and necessary step to build upon the positive developments achieved in inter-Korean relations."

In a statement, the EU affirmed that the Joint Statement signed by the US and North Korea indicates that "complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean peninsula" can be achieved:

"The European Union ... remains ready to facilitate and support the follow-on negotiation and other steps aimed at building confidence and ensuring long-lasting peace, security and prosperity on a Korean Peninsular free of nuclear weapons."
7:23 a.m. ET, June 12, 2018

Russian foreign minister: Trump-Kim meeting is a "positive" step

From CNN’s Mary Ilyushina

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday welcomed President Trump's meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Russian state news agency RIA-Novosti reported.

"We have not seen any documents," Lavrov said, referring to televised comments from both sides. "I think they have not been published yet, but the fact of the meeting itself is of course positive."

7:12 a.m. ET, June 12, 2018

Trump tells ABC: Kim "trusts me, and I trust him"

In an interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos, President Trump said he trusts North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, and he has received the same trust in return.

"I do trust him, yeah. Now will I come back to you in a year, and you'll be interviewing, I'll say 'Gee I made a mistake'? That's always possible, George. You know, we're dealing at a very high level, a lot of things can change," Trump said.

"He trusts me, I believe, I really do ... I think he trusts me, and I trust him."

7:01 a.m. ET, June 12, 2018

Trump says he has "great friendships" with G7 leaders

From CNN's Allie Malloy

LARS HAGBERG/AFP/Getty Images
LARS HAGBERG/AFP/Getty Images

President Trump, in an interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos, talked about the now-infamous meeting he had in Canada just before leaving for Singapore for his historic meeting.

Trump said he has "great friendships" with G7 leaders, but said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's comments at his press conference at the end of G7 were going to cost Trudeau "a lot of money."

"He gave out a little bit of an obnoxious thing. I actually like Justin, you know I think he's good, I like him but he shouldn't have done that. That was a mistake. That's gonna cost him a lot of money," Trump said.

"What happened is, we had a final document, I wasn't 100% but I wanted to leave nicely so we had a document, I get into Air Force One, the televisions on and I see a news conference being given by the Prime Minister of Canada and Justin and I said 'oh that's nice Justin' s giving —' and then he talked about how they won't be bullied, how they — and I said 'what's this all about?' he didn't do that to my face. What's this all about?"

"But here's what the story is, we have been taken advantage of as a country for decades by friends and enemies both," Trump said, referring to trade.

6:44 a.m. ET, June 12, 2018

President Trump is on his way back to the US

Moments ago President Trump departed Singapore aboard Air Force One. He's headed back to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, with brief stops in Guam and Hawaii first.

6:45 a.m. ET, June 12, 2018

What it was like to cover the historic meeting up close

From CNN's Jim Acosta

US President Donald Trump shows North Korea's Kim Jong Un his armored limousine, nicknamed the "Beast."
US President Donald Trump shows North Korea's Kim Jong Un his armored limousine, nicknamed the "Beast." Pool

"Gone are the days of 'fire and fury' and 'Little Rocket Man,'" CNN's chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta writes, recounting his experience covering the historic meeting between the leaders of the United States and North Korea.

Conceding that it was surreal to see the two shaking hands, walking together and even taking an impromptu tour of the "Beast" — Trump's armored limo — Acosta quoted Kim to sum it all up:

"Many people in the world will think of this as a form of fantasy ... from a science fiction movie," Kim said via the translator after the two leaders first met.

6:34 a.m. ET, June 12, 2018

Trump says US will stop war games. The military says it hasn't gotten any orders to stop drills.

The United States Forces Korea (USFK) says there haven't been any updated orders regarding planned drills, despite Trump's comments at a press conference following his historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

“We here at USFK received no official updated guidance on execution or cessation in any upcoming training exercises to include this late summer’s scheduled UFG,” USFK spokesman Colonel Chad Carroll told CNN, referring to drills codenamed Ulchi Freedom Guardian, which are planned for late August.

Earlier today, President Trump said the US plans to stop the "war games," an apparent reference to joint military exercises with South Korea that North Korea has long rebuked as provocative.

6:19 a.m. ET, June 12, 2018

South Korea's president: Trump and Kim showed "courage and determination"

President Moon watches the North Korean and US Summit from a cabinet meeting in Seoul
President Moon watches the North Korean and US Summit from a cabinet meeting in Seoul South Korean government

South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who watched the summit unfold from Seoul, offered his "heartfelt congratulations" and welcomed the success of the historic summit.

He said after speaking to the two leaders over the past month, he could "cautiously predict the success of the summit.

"Seventy years of division and hostility, however, have cast a dark shadow that makes it difficult to believe what is actually taking place before our very eyes. I pay my high compliments for the courage and determination of the two leaders, President Trump and Chairman Kim, not to settle for that outdated and familiar reality but to take a daring step towards change.The June 12 Sentosa Agreement will be recorded as a historic event that has helped break down the last remaining Cold War legacy on earth."

He added that the the summit was "a great victory achieved by both the United States and the two Koreas, and a huge step forward for people across the world who long for peace."