According to sources with the June 12 US-North Korea summit at stake, Trump on Thursday gave Kim two options reach an agreement to denuclearize and remain in power or suffer the fate of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who was overthrown and murdered by rebels who were supported by a NATO bombing campaign in 2011.
Trump told reporters prior to his meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the White House "If you look at that model with Gaddafi that was a total decimation, we went in there to beat him. Presently that model would take place if we don't make a deal, most likely." The President added but if we make a deal, he thinks Kim Jong-un is going to be very, very happy.
Moreover Trump, however, said that the United
States is not using "the Libyan model" in its negotiations with North
Korea, distancing himself from National Security Adviser John Bolton, who had
explicitly mentioned "the Libya model of 2003-2004" as a basis for
talks with Pyongyang. Furthermore Trump said that if Kim Jong-un agreed to
denuclearize, "he will get protections that would be very strong,"
referring to guarantees for Kim to remain in power. Moreover Trump also
downplayed Pyongyang's threats to pull out of the US-North Korea summit planned
for June 12 in Singapore, saying "North Korea's actually talking to us
about times and everything else as though nothing happened.
