On the 24th of May, 2018, the White House officially released a letter written by President Donald Trump to Kim Jong Un, which confirmed that the historic nuclear summit set to be held on the 12th of June regretfully had to be canceled by the President. In his letter, he stated that he refused to meet with the North Korean leader in Singapore for any reason, accusing him of “tremendous anger and open hostility.”
Most of the letter contained peaceful words and formal apologies for having to cancel the summit with Kim Jong Un, with Mr. Trump even going as far as to praise him for releasing the three American hostages who had successfully reached their home in the country. However, the letter also contained a passive aggressive threat, which implied that the United States was ridiculing all the flamboyant show of North Korean nuclear power. Relating to previous conversations between the two leaders, President Donald Trump wrote that he acknowledged North Korea’s nuclear capabilities, but in comparison to that, the American nuclear power was so strong and massive, that he “prayed to God they would never have to be used.”
This sudden cancellation of a much-awaited meeting via a letter took most of the countries, including the South Korean government by surprise. When the news reached South Korea, President Moon Jae-in was apparently devastated to see all of his efforts in setting up the diplomatic meeting ruined. The South Korean government reportedly convened an emergency meeting in Seoul to analyze President Trump’s intentions and figure out the exact meaning and repercussions of the letter.