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US to Avoid 'Libya Model' for DPRK Denuclearization, Kim Won't be Ousted - Trump

© AP Photo / Ahn Young-joonPeople pass by a TV screen showing file footages of U.S. President Donald Trump, right, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, April 9, 2018
People pass by a TV screen showing file footages of U.S. President Donald Trump, right, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, April 9, 2018 - Sputnik International
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US President Donald Trump said Thursday that he wouldn't try to implement a so-called "Libya model" for de-nuclearization that could lead to Kim Jong-un's ouster.

The US president's statement is a reference to a comment by Trump's National Security Advisor John Bolton, who referred to the "Libya model" as a pattern for the North's de-nuclearization.

Speaking further on the issue, Trump said that if Kim agreed to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, "he'll get protections that would be very strong."

"Syria never had protections, or if you look anywhere around the Middle East, you look at Iraq, you look at Libya, with Libya certainly they didn't have protection, they had the exact opposite. That was absolute decimation and that's what we planned to do and that's what we did," Trump told reporters.

At the same time, a White House spokeswoman has said that the United States was continuing to prepare for a meeting between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un in Singapore, despite reported threats from Pyongyang to cancel the meeting.

"Nothing has changed on our end," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters. "This was an invitation that North Korea offered and that we've accepted, and we're continuing to move forward in those preparations."

The day before, Sanders said that Trump's administration was still hopeful that the Singapore summit between the US president and North Korean leader would go ahead as planned on June 12.

READ MORE: US-S Korea Drills Seek to Sabotage Pyongyang-Seoul Peace — Russian Lawmaker

The historic upcoming US-DPRK summit was jeopardized after media reported that Pyongyang had suspended talks with South Korea scheduled for May 16 over ongoing joint military drills being conducted by Seoul and Washington. Despite North Korea's warning, Seoul said that it would continue its joint military exercise with Washington.

Meanwhile, Pyongyang has stressed that it was not interested in unilateral demands from the US on de-nuclearization and would negotiate with Trump only if he is seeking to improve bilateral relations.

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