NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR/RUSSIA/SANCTIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump said Wednesday [7-18-18] there is ‘no rush’ in its negotiations with North Korea over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program. The tweet came in a series of early morning messages from the President as he defended his inflammatory news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland, earlier in the week. On Tuesday [7-17-18], while clarifying remarks he made at the news conference, Trump also said there was ‘no time limit’ on North Korea and that sanctions would remain in place…Although the Trump administration formerly called for an immediate denuclearization of North Korea, Trump and administration officials in recent months have backed off that demand. It has been almost six weeks since Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held an unprecedented summit in Singapore, the first-ever meeting between a sitting US president and North Korean leader. The discussions resulted in a signed joint statement that committed both sides to establishing new relations and a path to peace on the Korean Peninsula. But critics said it only reiterated previous commitments and failed to lay out a timeline for denuclearization.”
–Joshua Berlinger, “Trump says ‘no rush’ on North Korea nuclear negotiations,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, July 18, 2018 6:47 am