President Trump holds a press conference, praising Vietnam.

• • • • The press conference has ended.

        President Trump concluded his nearly hour-long press conference at the Marriott hotel. He will now head to the airport to return to Washington.

        Image:Giang Huy

      • Trump does not want to increase sanctions on North Korea.
        

        "I don't want to talk about increasing sanctions," Trump said. The US president said that for the benefit of those living in North Korea, he didn't want to discuss it.

      • Criticizing previous administrations
        

        "That should have been done under previous presidents. I'm not just criticizing the Obama administration, but many other administrations as well," President Trump said, referring to the past failure of the U.S. and North Korea to reach any agreement.

      • I want to meet the North Korean leader again soon.

        When asked when he would meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un again, President Trump replied: "Maybe soon, not too long from now. I hope it happens soon."

      • Kim Jong-un was unaware of the death of American student Otto Warmbier.
        

        "I really think bad things happened to Otto Warmbier, but I don't think the North Korean leadership knew about it. I don't think Chairman Kim would have allowed that to happen. North Korean prisons are very harsh, but I don't think their leaders knew about that," President Trump said.

        Reporters asked whether President Trump had questioned Chairman Kim about Warmbier's death.

        "I did bring up the issue. Kim Jong-un only learned about Warmbier's death after it had already happened. He insisted he didn't know about it, and I believe Chairman Kim," the White House occupant replied.

      • There are no plans for the next summit.

        The US president said that he and Chairman Kim Jong-un have not committed to holding another summit.

        Image:AFP

      • Trump will call South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe after boarding the plane. The White House occupant praised Chinese President Xi Jinping as a "great leader" who has "helped a great deal" with border issues. "Could he help more? Absolutely," Trump said.

      • President Trump said that Chairman Kim had promised him that "weapon tests will not happen, especially missile tests or anything related to nuclear weapons."

        The White House chief praised China for helping to advance the discussions, emphasizing that Beijing has far more influence than people realize. The US president noted that Chairman Kim is a "strong man" and never takes orders from anyone.

      • The US will not yield to North Korea's demands.
        

        President Trump answers a reporter's question. Photo:AFP.

        President Trump said that Chairman Kim was willing to dismantle the Yongbyon nuclear facility, but wanted all sanctions lifted first, something the US president was unwilling to do.

        Secretary of State Pompeo later stated that even if the Yongbyon facility were dismantled, North Korea would still have many other nuclear facilities and weapons stockpiles, making it impossible for President Trump to reach an agreement with Chairman Kim.

    • 'We need to give up nuclear weapons'

      A South Korean reporter asked the U.S. President what specific issues regarding denuclearization he and Chairman Kim had discussed.

      "People say a lot, but to me it definitely has to be: He needs to be prepared to give up nuclear weapons." The US President then referred to North Korea's potential.

  • It's better to do it quickly than to do it well.

    When asked if holding this summit was too rushed, President Trump replied: "I could sign something today, but doing the right thing is better than doing it quickly."

  • No one left in anger.

    President Trump said his discussions with Chairman Kim remained "friendly" and that no one left angry. "We still love each other, we have a good relationship," he said.

    Image:Giang Huy

  • A reporter asked whether President Trump was the one who made the decision to end the discussions with Chairman Kim Jong-un.

    "I don't want to say that it was my decision, because what purpose would that serve?" the US President replied. "But we will still maintain the relationship."

    Trump then shifted to mentioning his past achievements, speaking about the repatriation of American prisoners in North Korea and Chairman Kim's promise not to conduct further nuclear tests. "I believe him and I believe what he says," the US President emphasized.

  • Understanding North Korea

    When asked by reporters how he could bridge the gap in views between the US and North Korea regarding denuclearization, the US President replied that it would take time but "we understand this country very well."

  • The visions of denuclearization between the US and North Korea are converging.
    

    "He has a certain vision, not exactly the same as ours, but it's much closer than it was a year ago," the US President replied to a reporter's question about Chairman Kim Jong-un's vision for denuclearization.

• The U.S. says North Korea is 'not ready' to meet the demands.
  

  Secretary of State Pompeo said this at a press conference. Photo:White House.

  "We didn't achieve anything meaningful for the United States. I think Chairman Kim had hoped the two sides could reach an agreement. We asked him to do more, but Chairman Kim wasn't ready to do that. However, I remain very optimistic," U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said at a press conference.
  

  He affirmed that the negotiations would take a long time. "We will continue to work to make progress and achieve the goal that the whole world desires: the denuclearization of North Korea, reducing the threat to the American people and the world," Secretary of State Pompeo added.

Reasons for not reaching an agreement.

President Trump said disagreements over sanctions were the reason his summit with Chairman Kim Jong-un did not yield the expected results. "North Korea wants the U.S. to lift all sanctions, but we're not ready to do that," he said. "We have to get away from this particular issue."

After Trump's speech, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo took the stage to announce the details. "We've made real progress... in the last 24-36 hours," but added that the two sides "haven't reached the end of the road yet."

Pompeo said he remains optimistic that the U.S. and North Korean teams can meet again in the coming weeks.

Trump praised Kim.

"We had a constructive time. Chairman Kim is a fascinating person, and our relationship is very strong. However, sometimes you have to go slowly," President Trump said, referring to the summit with the North Korean leader, asserting that both sides agreed "signing an agreement wasn't really appropriate."

Thank you, Vietnam

President Trump began the press conference with news about U.S. foreign policy, praising Vietnam's economic development and thanking Vietnam for its hospitality.

Trump referred to the recent tensions between India and Pakistan and expressed hope that the situation would soon be resolved.

President Trump begins the press conference.

President Trump and Secretary of State Pompeo are present at the podium. Photo:Viet Anh.

Image:White House

The press is waiting.

Approximately 200 reporters are present at the Marriott hotel awaiting the press conference scheduled to be held by the US delegation. They are all eagerly reporting on the unexpected developments at the summit.

Image:Giang Huy

South Korean official: 'We are just as confused as the rest of the world.'

After the White House announced that the Trump-Kim summit had failed to reach an agreement, a South Korean official said the country was "as confused as the world is right now," according toCNN.

"The whole world has been eagerly awaiting an agreement, and so have we," he said.

The South Korean stock market fell sharply after news broke that the Trump-Kim summit failed to produce a joint statement.

President Trump returns to the hotel.

The presidential limousine transporting President Trump to the Marriott hotel. Photo:Pham Du.

President Trump's motorcade has stopped at the Marriott hotel where he is staying. He may be heading to the airport to return home a few hours earlier than expected.

A rushed press conference.

The press conference, organized by the US delegation, began at 2 PM today at the Marriott Hotel, two hours earlier than planned. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders stated that the negotiations between President Donald Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-un at the second US-North Korea summit today did not yield any joint agreement.

She also added that President Trump and the North Korean leader "had very good and constructive meetings in Hanoi, Vietnam, on February 27-28," affirming that "the working team will meet in the future."

This is considered a surprising development because the US and North Korean leaders, after their private meeting this morning, both affirmed that they had a good discussion and expressed confidence in a positive outcome.