Anchor: The abrupt collapse of talks between the leaders of the United States and North Korea over the latter's denuclearization process in Hanoi on Thursday stunned observers around the world. Speaking to the media after the talks, U.S. President Donald Trump said the lifting of international sanctions as a corresponding measure to the North's denuclearization steps was what caused talks to fall through. 
Choi You Sun reports.

Report: U.S. President Donald Trump says North Korea's demand for sanctions relief was the final straw that forced Thursday's negotiations to end without a deal.

At a press conference following his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Hanoi, Trump said he felt it would be "inappropriate" to sign an agreement this time around.

[Sound bite: US President Donald Trump] 
"Basically, they wanted the sanctions lifted in their entirety and we couldn't do that. They were willing to denuke a large portion of the areas that we wanted but we couldn't give up all of the sanctions for that."

When asked whether Pyongyang had offered to dismantle its Yongbyon nuclear facility, Trump said Yongbyon alone was not enough for the extent of sanctions relief the North wanted.

He added there are additional facilities unknown to the world, including a second uranium enrichment plant, which the U.S. brought to the negotiating table.

Trump also blamed his predecessors for having missed out on opportunities to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue.

[Sound bite: US President Donald Trump]
“This should have been solved during many presidential runs and you know people talked about it, they never did anything. I get a kick out of so many people from past administrations telling me how to negotiate when they were there in some cases for eight years and they did nothing.”

He, meanwhile, said the talks over the past two days were "very productive" and that he wanted to maintain the good relations between the two sides.

[Sound bite: US President Donald Trump]
"As you know we got our hostages back, there's no more testing. And one of the things importantly that Chairman Kim promised me last night is regardless he’s not going to testing of rockets and nuclear. I trust him and I take him at his word. I hope that’s true. In the meantime, we’ll be talking."

With no date set for his next meeting with Kim, Trump has reiterated his intent not to rush through the denuclearization process, but to get it right.
Choi You Sun, KBS World Radio News.

[Photo : YONHAP News]