Giuliani says Kim Jong Un got on 'his hands and knees and begged for' the summit with Trump
- Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York City and current lawyer for President Donald Trump, said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un got "on his hands and knees and begged" the president to move forward with a planned summit after Trump abruptly cancelled it in late May.
- Giuliani's alleged comments about Kim could anger Pyongyang given that North Korea does not take kindly to any statements or actions that could be perceived as insulting or threatening toward its leader.
- Trump is set to meet with Kim in Singapore on June 12.
Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York City and current lawyer for President Donald Trump, said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un got "on his hands and knees and begged" the president to move forward with a planned summit after Trump abruptly cancelled it in late May.
"Well, Kim Jong Un got back on his hands and knees and begged for it, which is exactly the position you want to put him in," Giuliani said at an investment conference in Israel, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
Giuliani also reportedly said Trump had cancelled the meeting because of aggressive comments made by the North Korean government.
"They also said they were going to go to nuclear war with us, they were going to defeat us in a nuclear war," Giuliani said. "We said we're not going to have a summit under those circumstances."
On May 24, Trump cancelled the meeting with Kim, citing the "tremendous anger and open hostility" in recent statements toward the US from the North Korean government. This came after a North Korean official insulted Vice President Mike Pence and threatened the US with a "nuclear showdown."
After Trump cancelled the meeting, however, North Korea changed its tone and said it was willing to "sit down face-to-face with the US and resolve issues anytime and in any format."
It's not clear whether Giuliani was referencing this statement in terms of claiming Kim "begged" Trump to hold the meeting or if he was speaking in literal terms. Business Insider reached out to Giuliani for further clarification on his remarks, but did not receive an immediate response.
After a significant amount of back and forth between the US and North Korea, Trump on June 1 announced the summit was back on, and he's set to meet with Kim at the Capella Hotel in Singapore on June 12.
Giuliani's alleged comments about Kim could make things awkward given that North Korea does not take kindly to any statements or actions that could be perceived as insulting or threatening toward its leader.
Business Insider contacted North Korea's UN mission in New York for a response to Giuliani's comments, but did not hear back by the time of publication.