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Trump halts new sanctions on North Korea; puts pressure US officials to move forward with summit
President Donald Trump halted new sanctions aimed at putting pressure on North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un. The president has also directed his advisers to move forward with plans for a June 12 summit with Kim in Singapore. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Trump halts new sanctions on North Korea; puts pressure US officials to move forward with summit

President Donald Trump halted new sanctions on North Korea and directed officials to move forward on plans for a summit with the nation's leader Kim Jong Un next month, Fox News reported.

The White House was prepared to announce additional sanctions this week but held off after Trump said he was working on a potential meeting with Kim, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Earlier this month, the president scrapped a meeting with Kim because of a harsh statement made by North Korea.

The Treasury Department had come up with new sanctions for dozens of targets, including Chinese and Russian entities, according to The Journal.

“The goal here is to achieve maximum pressure,” a senior administration official told The Journal last week. “We’re still short of that.”

American and North Korean officials have been engaged in ongoing talks, according to Fox News.

The president has also directed his advisers to move forward with plans for a June 12 summit with Kim in Singapore.

Trump tweeted on Sunday that U.S. officials had “arrived in North Korea to make arrangements for the Summit between Kim Jong Un and myself.”

“I truly believe North Korea has brilliant potential and will be a great economic and financial Nation one day,” Trump said. “Kim Jong Un agrees with me on this. It will happen!”

On Monday, the president discussed the summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, CNN reported. Abe reportedly recommended the U.S. to maintain its pressure on North Korea until it reaches agreements over the nation's nuclear and missile programs.

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