Trump warns Kim Jong Un: I'll walk out of meeting if you don't play ball

Donald Trump threatened Wednesday to walk out of a meeting with Kim Jong Un, while promising to maintain “maximum pressure” on the North Korean despot in the weeks leading up to the planned summit between the two leaders.

Trump’s South Korean counterpart, Moon Jae In, struck a different tone hours later, calling for “bold imagination and creative solutions” to make a success of both his summit with North Korea next week and Trump’s meeting next month.

The contrasting approaches highlight the different paths the two men have taken in pushing Kim to the negotiating table. Moon has spent almost a year building his peace initiative, while Trump has used bluster and threats.

Speaking at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Wednesday, alongside Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Trump confirmed he would meet Kim in the “coming weeks” but warned he was ready to bail any time, including during the sit-down.

"If we don't think it's going to be successful, we won't have it,” Trump said. “If the meeting when I'm there isn't fruitful, I will respectfully leave the meeting.”

“I like always remaining flexible,” Trump added. “We'll remain flexible here.”

READ: Mike Pompeo had a top-secret meeting with Kim Jong Un

The problem with this attitude, experts warn, is that Trump’s definition of denuclearization and Kim’s definition are significantly different.

Trump earlier confirmed reports that CIA Director Mike Pompeo, the man nominated to replace Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State, traveled to Pyongyang to meet Kim over Easter, laying the groundwork for the historic summit.

Moon on Thursday said: “We cannot repeat past mistakes and so must find new solutions. But the talks will be successful only when all sides reach an agreement on such new solutions. In addition, they will ultimately require an agreement between the North and the U.S.”

The South Korea president was speaking at the third of a series of meetings — this time with the heads of South Korean media outlets — to help him understand the prevailing opinions on the upcoming summit, something Trump has not done.

South Korean officials also confirmed Wednesday that the two sides have been discussing the possibility of signing a peace treaty at the summit next Friday, formally ending the Korean War that started 68 years ago.

Cover image: Donald Trump speaks as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrives for talks at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, on April 17, 2018. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)