VOA常速英语:朝俄领导人会晤获得多方关注

The world was watching as North Korea’s once reclusive leader met with Russian President Putin in Vladivostok this week, and that may have been the point. President Donald Trump said he was pleased with the comments that came out of the meeting and with the way things are going with North Korea. I have a great relationship with Kim Jong-un. I appreciate that Russia and China is helping us, and China is helping us because I think they want to. They don’t need nuclear weapons right next to their country. Some analysts say the president’s view of China and Russia’s help might be overly optimistic. This was as much about Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin demonstrating to the United States that they are not necessarily going to move on their timetable or according to their priorities. Stallard Blanchette said Russia and China appear to be in no hurry to see the North Korea nuclear issue resolved quickly.
From Russia’s point of view, and I think China would be pretty supportive of this, too. They would be quite interested in just maintaining the status quo as long as there are no active tests, as long as the tensions are not where they were back in 2017. They will be happy for this to be dragged out really for quite some time.

Trump was also asked about a report that the U.S. agreed to pay North Korea two million dollars for the care of American student Otto Warmbier who sustained brain damage while in North Korean custody, returned home in a coma in 2017 and died six days later. We did not pay money for Otto Warmbier. There was no money paid. There was a fake news report that money was paid. Otto Warmbier’s father Fred said he had no prior knowledge of a bill, but characterized it as a ransom for his son.
Cindy Saine, VOA News, the State Department.