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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

President Trump Set To Meet Kim Jong-un In Historic Summit; Tensions Boil Over At G7 Summit; Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Gives White House Briefing On North Korea Summit. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired June 11, 2018 - 05:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[05:30:03] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's a one-time shot and I think it's going to work out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: The president striking an optimistic tone as he prepares to make history.

We are monitoring a White House briefing but it's not at the White House, it's in Singapore. It's expected to begin in just moments. You'll see Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in this briefing with reporters.

DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: And the president digging in the heels on trade and crossing those arms after a rocky weekend at the G7. Why he's isolating himself from U.S. allies and all the global reaction.

Welcome back to EARLY START, everybody, on a monumental Monday. I'm Dave Briggs.

ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. It is monumental. Thirty minutes past the hour. We welcome all of our viewers here in the U.S. and all around the world.

President Trump getting ready to do something no sitting U.S. president has ever done. In just hours, he will meet face-to-face with the leader of North Korea.

It is late afternoon in Singapore now. It has been a busy day already there.

President Trump met with Singapore's prime minister and other government officials for a working lunch. The president joined by top aides and members of his cabinet, including the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Chief of Staff John Kelly, and National Security Adviser John Bolton.

BRIGGS: President Trump insisting this is a one-time shot for Kim Jong Un to achieve peace and prosperity for his people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: I think within the first minute I'll know.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How?

TRUMP: Just my touch, my feel. That's what -- that's what I do. I think I'll know pretty quickly whether or not, in my opinion, something positive will happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: North Korean state media reporting Kim is open to discussing denuclearization and durable peacekeeping on the Korean Peninsula.

CNN White House correspondent Kaitlin Collins live in the briefing room where we expect to hear from Mike Pompeo any minute now. Good morning, Kaitlin.

KAITLIN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Dave, that's right. We are going to hear from him any minute now. We're minutes away from that briefing with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and just hours away from that sit-down between President Trump and Kim Jong Un.

Now, what we're likely to hear from Pompeo during this briefing -- we're about 15 minutes or so away from where that meeting between Trump and Kim Jong Un is going to take place on Sentosa Island. But what we're going to hear from Mike Pompeo is likely about the logistics of what's going to happen tomorrow and how this meeting is going to unfold.

One thing we do know is that when they first meet, the leaders are going to be meeting one-on-one with only their translator in the room. Now that is something quite significant.

There are not going to be any of their national security advisers or any of their officials with them in that room. And that underscores how much this meeting is really about developing a personal relationship between the president and between Kim Jong Un.

But it raises the obvious question of if they're the only two in the room, how do we know what is an accurate account of what actually transpired during that meeting between the two of them because there won't be anyone besides the translators there to back it up.

So those are the questions that Pompeo is likely to face in here. Also, what kind of commitments are they looking to get out of North Korea. The president has hinted that this could be a multiple-meeting situation where there are more meetings with Kim Jong Un in the future, potentially in the United States.

We'll likely hear more about what exactly their requirements for the North Koreans are when Pompeo briefs reporters here in the next few minutes, Dave and Christine.

BRIGGS: All right, a big moment. Kaitlin Collins live for us. We'll hear from the secretary of state shortly. Thank you, Kaitlin. ROMANS: All right. As President Trump tries to make peace with a longtime enemy, he is simultaneously driving a wedge into America's relationship with its closest allies.

Overnight, the president attacked members of the G7 on Twitter, complaining about other country's quote "massive trade surpluses." What the U.S. is paying -- quote, "close to the entire cost of NATO."

The president refusing to sign the G7 communique once he heard Prime Minister Justin Trudeau say Canada plans to retaliate against Trump's steel tariffs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTIN TRUDEAU, PRIME MINISTER, CANADA: I have made it very clear to the president that it is not something we relish doing but it is something that we absolutely will do because Canadians -- we're polite, we're reasonable but we also will not be pushed around.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: And that comment, right there, enraged the president. He called Trudeau's comments dishonest and weak.

And listen to the president's top advisers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KUDLOW, DIRECTOR, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: He really kind of stabbed us in the back. He really, actually -- you know what, he did a great disservice to the whole G7.

PETER NAVARRO, TRADE ADVISER TO PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: There's a special place in hell for any foreign leader that engages in bad-faith diplomacy with President Donald J. Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Wow.

Let's go live to Berlin and bring in CNN senior international correspondent Atika Shubert.

What is the response where you are to all of this, Atika?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, disappointed but not surprised, Christine.

In fact, Chancellor Merkel in a T.V. interview last night said look, she'd like to have a good relationship with the United States but it's just not something that she can count on with President Trump in office right now.

But I think what speaks the most is this photograph that you showed earlier in the show and is now splashed across every front page in Germany. This one from Suddeutsche Zeitung with the headline says "Europe Will Not Be Intimidated."

[05:35:12] And, of course, it shows Chancellor Merkel leaning in, seemingly to lecture President Trump who has his arms folded.

Now, there's lots of versions -- of ways to look at this photo but this was released by the chancellor's office and it clearly shows the way Germany has perceived the G7. That while Germany stands shoulder- to-shoulder with the other members of the G7, it seems that the United States stands alone on this and that appears to be the way that Germany is looking at this, Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Atika Shubert, thank you so much for that.

BRIGGS: All right. We'll take you live to the Mike Pompeo press briefing on the Trump-Kim summit any moment now but first, let's bring in our panel.

CNN global affairs analyst David Rohde, online news director for "The New Yorker."

Gordon Chang, columnist for "The Daily Beast" and author of "Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes on the World."

And in Washington, CNN political analyst Josh Rogin, columnist for "The Washington Post."

Good to see you all.

Gordon, Trump will know in the first minute how this is going to go -- if North Korea is serious about peace -- because of his touch, his feel.

How optimistic are you, given that?

GORDON CHANG, COLUMNIST, "THE DAILY BEAST," AUTHOR, "NUCLEAR SHOWDOWN: NORTH KOREA TAKES ON THE WORLD": Well, first of all, this isn't about personalities. This is about North Korea has a system. It certainly has a whole array of objectives that it wants. And they could love President Trump or they could hate him, but the response is going to be the same because it's not about personalities.

Now, of course, it's much nicer -- you know, we Americans tend to think oh, it's great, you know. If leaders get along, countries will get along. That's not the way the North Koreans think and that's not the way the Chinese think, and that's important for us because we've got this all wrong.

ROMANS: It reminded of George W. Bush saying that he looked into Vladimir Putin's eyes and he could see into his soul. And John McCain -- remember, he said yeah, I look into his eyes and I see KGB -- you know? It's like it's all --

What do you think? What are the deliverables here for the United States and for North Korea?

DAVID ROHDE, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST, ONLINE NEWS DIRECTOR, "THE NEW YORKER": One word, denuclearization. There's a completely different understanding of that term between North Korea and the United States.

What is President Trump going to deliver in terms of will North Korea give up its weapons? There's never been an agreement between the two countries about what his means.

For the North Koreans, it's about withdrawing U.S. forces from South Korea. And they've -- you know, they've committed to denuclearization in the past -- North Korea has -- but then not abided by his agreement. So this has to be -- you know, it's all in the details as we talked about earlier.

BRIGGS: So given that, Josh, what does success look like for President Trump?

JOSH ROGIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, COLUMNIST, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Well, I think you're going to have two definitions.

You're going to have the president's definition which is as low expectations as possible. We're talking about a broad framework, some vague denuclearization talk, and a joint statement that both of them can sign that can begin a process where over the next months and years their teams follow up. That's what they're going to define as success.

Then, in Washington, you're going to have a whole different debate where you're going to have people in Congress, experts, and journalists who are going to say OK, here are the problems with what they just came up with, and here's where North Korea could cheat, and here's what we might be giving up in return, and here's how maximum pressure is loosening through this process.

And then you'll have an agreement to disagree where the administration and its supporters will say wow, what a successful historical summit -- wasn't that amazing. And a lot of people who followed this issue --

ROMANS: Yes.

ROGIN: -- for a long time will say well, that really didn't do much at all. That was more of a photo op than anything else.

ROMANS: Yes.

I mean, Gordon, no other president has been able to get this far, right, but who gets the credit?

Is this the South Korean leader? Is the Chinese -- have they been nurturing this here? Is it Donald Trump and sort of his disruptive personality that have gotten us here?

CHANG: Well, a couple of things.

First of all, the North Koreans need sanctions relief and you can thank Trump for that. Also, there's been a lot of talk in Asia, especially among Korea watchers, that the threats to strike North Korea's facilities have really brought the Chinese, South Koreans, and North Koreans around.

But on the other hand, you've got Moon Jae-in who facilitated this because even though the North Koreans might be in a mood to talk, they weren't really in a position to actually start the discussions. So you can credit the South Korean president there.

The one thing about China, Christine -- over the last three months it's been sanctions-busting. It's been much more blatant than in the past. And what we -- if we don't get a good deal with the North Koreans it will be because the Chinese have said to Kim Jong Un during those two meetings in China between Xi Jinping and Kim, that basically we've got your back. You don't have to deal with the Americans.

And this presents an important issue. How are we going to deal with Beijing if we don't get what we want at the summit?

BRIGGS: You talk about a good deal.

David, what is a good deal given the Iran nuclear deal -- the president called it the worst deal ever negotiated before and after he got us out of that. What does a good deal look like on North Korea?

ROHDE: The biggest thing to watch is access for American inspectors throughout North Korea. We have no idea how many nuclear facilities North Korea has -- immediate, open access.

The biggest gripe President Trump had with the Iran deal was the access issue. The rest of the world -- the Europeans -- you know, the U.N. Nuclear Agency said there was good access.

Either way, he's got to get more access than was in the Iran nuclear deal. This has never happened.

The other thing is he's humiliating his negotiating partners. It's -- you know, Kim to sort of just let foreign inspections in North Korea --

[05:40:05] ROMANS: Yes.

ROHDE: -- makes him look weak to his own populous. This is why this sort of belligerent bullying approach to negotiations can backfire because he puts leaders sort of in a corner and they have to stand up to him for their own domestic political reasons.

ROMANS: And, Josh, you look at Justin Trudeau, for example, who for domestic political reasons had to stand up and say that after the G7 that look, we're not going to be pushed around. And that threw Trump -- made him very, very angry and caused the United States not even to sign the communique that it had negotiated.

As I've been saying, he's spinning a lot of plates here, insulting NATO, insulting Germany, insulting Justin Trudeau. Calling everybody by first names, by the way, too, which is sort of -- BRIGGS: Just -- yes.

ROMANS: -- undiplomatic.

Josh, what's the strategy?

ROGIN: You know, I think this tells Kim Jong Un something about how to deal with Donald Trump.

One, everything's personal with President Trump. If he feels slighted, if he feels insulted that could have a huge impact. So you have to manage his personality and manage his feelings, right?

The second thing is, for Donald Trump, everything's transactional. It's what did I get here, what's the snapshot transaction, what's the cost-benefit of what happened today?

He doesn't really think if there's strategic implications, long-term implications, multilateral alliances. This is the things that Washington foreign policy wonks think are important. President Trump doesn't think that way, right?

What the G7 incident tells us is that this is a man, in President Trump, who wants a good, respectful interaction with something on the table for himself today. And I think that -- you could take and apply the North Korea situation very directly.

BRIGGS: Well, Larry Kudlow -- when asked by Jake Tapper was the attack on Justin Trudeau and Angela Merkel about North Korea, Larry Kudlow told Jake "of course, it was. In large part, absolutely."

So, Gordon, what does North Korea take away from the U.S. mess at the G7?

CHANG: I think there's a couple of things.

First of all, Kim could look at this and say look, the United States is isolated. I want sanctions relief. This is great for me.

On the other hand, he could look at this and say this guy, Trump, is dangerous. I'm not going to cross him.

And so I think that's maybe what Kudlow was getting at.

And, you know, Kim has a very different way of looking at the world. We're not exactly sure which of those two options he's going to go for.

But regardless of this -- the mess with the G7 is a real problem for the U.S. long-term because it's not just North Korea that we worry about, it's not just China. We need to have stable partners at our back if we're going to solve these problems.

ROMANS: And we know this briefing with Mike Pompeo in Singapore is going to happen within the next couple of minutes. We've received the 2-minute warning so it's happening here soon. You can see Sarah Sanders walking to the podium.

David Rohde, just one last quick question here. What could -- what could make this a failure?

ROHDE: I think it's a lack of a detailed agreement and the president exaggerating what he's achieved. He constantly exaggerates and gets figures wrong. He could exaggerate, actually what comes out of these talks.

ROMANS: I mean, it's true that North Korea has sort of walked away with a win no matter what because for the first -- this is the first Kim --

CHANG: Legitimization.

ROMANS: Right. I mean, on a level playing field with the president.

All right, let's listen. We're going to watch these live pictures. This is about ready to get started.

The secretary of state is going to hold this briefing. Let's listen.

MIKE POMPEO, SECRETARY OF STATE: Good afternoon.

I want to give an update in advance of President Trump's summit with Chairman Kim Jong Un. As the president said on Saturday, this is truly a mission of peace.

This afternoon, the president called Prime Minister Abe of Japan and President Moon of South Korea. Earlier today, our ambassador, Sung Kim, led a delegation to meet with Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-Hui and his North Korean -- or excuse me, and her North Korean delegation.

The talks continue this afternoon, even as we sit here now. They're, in fact, moving quite rapidly and we anticipate they will come to their logical conclusion even more quickly than we had anticipated.

Before discussing the summit, I want to address a report in "The New York Times" that suggested that the U.S. team lacks the technical expertise on dismantling North Korean's weapons program as part of these talks. I want to address that report directly.

For over three months, an interagency working group of over 100 experts across government has met multiple times per week to address technical and logistical issues associated with dismantling North Korea's weapons programs.

They include experts from the military charged with dismantling nuclear weapons; the Department of Energy, including PhDs and experts from DOE labs; and officials from the Intelligence Community covering North Korea. Those same experts also cover North Korea's nuclear, chemical, biological, and missile programs.

These experts include dozens of PhDs who have expertise in nuclear weapons to fuel cycle, missiles, chemical, and biological weapons. They have advanced degrees in nuclear engineering, physics, chemistry, aerospace, biology, and other relevant fields.

[05:45:04] On the ground, in Singapore, we have a team that includes the president's senior-most expert in weapons of mass destruction who can cover any technical needs that the meetings may present. Any suggestion that the United States somehow lacks the technical expertise across government or lacks it on the ground here in Singapore is mistaken.

North Korea has previously confirmed to us its willingness to denuclearize and we are eager to see if those words prove sincere. The fact that our two leaders are sitting down face-to-face is a sign of the enormous potential to accomplish something that will immensely benefit both of our peoples and the entire world.

President Trump believes that Kim Jong Un has an unprecedented opportunity to change the trajectory of our relationship and bring peace and prosperity to his country. We are hopeful this summit will have set the conditions for future productive talks.

In light of how many flimsy agreements the United States has made in previous years, this president will ensure that no potential agreement will fail to adequately address the North Korean threat.

The ultimate objective we seek from diplomacy with North Korea has not changed. The complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization of the Korea Peninsula is the only outcome that the United States will accept.

Sanctions will remain until North Korea completely and verifiably eliminates its weapons of mass destruction programs. If diplomacy does not move in the right direction -- and we are hopeful that it will continue to do so -- those measures will increase.

President Trump recognizes Chairman Kim's desire for security and is prepared to ensure that a North Korea free of weapons of mass destruction is also a secure North Korea. The president has also expressed his openness to expanding access to foreign investment and other economic opportunities for North Korea if they take the right steps.

All of the preparations for this summit have come together very nicely.

The president met this afternoon with Minister Lee of Singapore. It was an important opportunity to thank the prime minister of Singapore for his partnership in helping make this summit a reality.

Singapore is home to over 4,000 American companies and has -- is a longstanding commercial partner, and we thank them for their help in making this summit what it is.

The president also had a chance to visit with our embassy team here in Singapore and thanked them for their tireless work to make this summit a success. For example, at tomorrow's summit, there will be some 5,000 members of the media from all over the world that will be covering this historic event.

President Trump is going into this meeting with confidence, a positive attitude, and eagerness for real progress. He has made it clear that if Kim Jong Un denuclearizes, there is a brighter future for North Korea. Tomorrow, we will get our clearest indication to date of whether Chairman Kim Jong Un truly shares this vision.

I'm happy to take a couple of questions.

SARAH SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Secretary, (INAUDIBLE) has confidence that verifiable and irreversible denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula. And I wonder whether that represents a slight (INAUDIBLE). (INAUDIBLE) Korean Peninsula which reflects part of (INAUDIBLE) which is to denuclearize the Peninsula.

Is that a change in position?

POMPEO: There's no shift in the policy. It is the case that we are prepared to make security assurances necessary for the North Koreans to engage in that denuclearization. That is, we're prepared to take actions that will provide them sufficient certainty that they can be comfortable that denuclearization isn't something that ends badly for them.

Indeed, just the opposite -- that it leads to a brighter, better future for the North Korean people.

SARAH SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Major Garrett, CBS.

MAJOR GARRETT, CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, CBS NEWS: Following up on that point, Mr. Secretary, under the umbrella of security assurances would that include removing U.S. forces now in South Korea? Is that something you're prepared to discuss with the North Koreans directly?

POMPEO: I'm not going to get into any of the details of the discussions that we've had today.

I can only say this. We're prepared to take what will be security assurances that are different, unique than have been provided -- that America has been willing to provide previously. We think this is both necessary and appropriate.

GARRETT: Would it be erroneous to assume that that's not on the table?

POMPEO: I -- you shouldn't assume from the fact that I don't give any detail here today that some question you posited has any merit.

[05:50:00] GARRETT: (INAUDIBLE) sensitivity.

POMPEO: Yes, you should -- you should just not -- you should just -- if you hypothesize something that's in it and I refuse to tell you what's in it, you should assume that I'm simply refusing to tell you what's in it and not drawing any conclusions from the negative inference that I think you're suggesting.

You should -- you should -- there's going to be a lot of work left to do, there's a lot of detail that's got to be provided. We are not going to conduct these negotiations in the open with the media. We're going to conduct them between the two parties so that we have an opportunity to have a real success here.

SANDERS: Michael Gordon, "The Wall Street Journal".

MICHAEL GORDON, NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT, "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL": Yes, Mr. Secretary, it's clear what the U.S. expects from the North in terms of denuclearization but sometimes there's been a suggestion from North Korean officials that their concept of denuclearization might include the deployment of aircraft or (INAUDIBLE) the Korean Peninsula.

Is this something the Trump administration would be willing to discuss or is there something you can do about it? And who do (INAUDIBLE).

POMPEO: So I think the first part of your question is the same question Major Garrett asked. It was a substantive question about what one side or the other may be prepared to do. I'm simply not going to speak to that.

With respect to the second question, the context for these discussions is radically different than ever before. The backdrop against which these negotiations are taking, President Trump has set in a way that is fundamentally different than before. The president has made very clear until such time as we get the outcome that we're demanding, economic relief is not going to be provided.

That's different. There was always this hypothesis that somewhere along the way the Americans would take their foot off and allow those economic opportunities for the North and thereby, reduce the capacity to actually achieve the deal. We're not going to do that.

So these discussions that will take place tomorrow between Chairman Kim and President Trump will set the framework for that hard work that will follow. And we'll see how far we get but I am very optimistic that we will have a successful outcome from tomorrow's meeting between these two leaders.

It's the case in each of those two countries there are only two people that can make decisions of this magnitude and those two people are going to be sitting in a room together tomorrow.

SANDERS: (INAUDIBLE) with the A.P.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Secretary, the president says he'll know within a minute whether Kim is serious, based on his feel. These are obviously incredibly complex nuclear issues that have tens of millions of civilians in the crosshairs.

Is it wise for the president to be going on his gut, and have you established any specific criteria for the conditions that lead him to walk out tomorrow? POMPEO: The president is fully prepared for the meeting tomorrow. I personally had the opportunity to make sure that he's had a chance to hear lots of different voices, all of the intended opportunities and risks, and that we have -- we have put these two leaders in the right place.

As I said in answer to the previous question, President Trump has truly laid out a process here that is fundamentally different than the ones that we've gone through before. And I expect that the process from tomorrow forward will also be fundamentally different with a resolved America working to try and provide an outcome that benefits both countries. That's different than what we've done before.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) preparations, sir?

SANDERS: (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Secretary Pompeo, over here.

POMPEO: Yes, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Sec. Pompeo. This question is from the White House press briefing room and (INAUDIBLE) as you a question and the question is whether or not or how you trust the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

And the next question is (INAUDIBLE). But I also want to include the question, if I may, Mr. Secretary, how can Kim Jong Un trust the United States? (INAUDIBLE).

POMPEO: I'll take your second one first. I think the hypothesis is ludicrous.

The United States has been fooled before. There's no doubt about it. Many presidents previously have signed off on pieces of paper only to find that the North Koreans either didn't promise what we thought they had or actually reneged on their promises.

[05:55:01] The "V" matters. The "V" matters. We are going to ensure that we set up a system sufficiently robust that we're able to verify these outcomes.

And it's only once the "V" happens that we'll proceed at a pace, all right? That's what's been missed before. We can go back to Reagan's "trust, but verify."

At the end of the day, both countries are going to have to come to have sufficient trust in each other and to do the verification that each country needs that we've provided the things that are called for that we commit to and the various documents that we sign, both tomorrow if we sign a document and if we sign subsequent documents.

But we'll each have to ensure that we do the things -- we take the actions necessary to follow through on those commitments. And when we do, we'll have a verified deal.

And if we can get that far we will have had a historic change here in Southeast Asia, in North Asia, and all around the world.

SANDERS: We'll take one last question. Phil Rucker, "The Washington Post."

PHILIP RUCKER, WHITE HOUSE BUREAU CHIEF, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Mr. Secretary, this morning, Mr. Trump had harsh words for Prime Minister Trudeau. And what do you (INAUDIBLE) with the closest allies in Europe? And do you agree with the statement made about your colleagues yesterday (INAUDIBLE)?

POMPEO: Well, I came here today, here in Singapore, to talk about North Korea, but I'm happy to talk about work with our European partners as well.

We wouldn't be in this place -- we wouldn't have this historic opportunity without the diplomatic work that's been done by our European partners alongside of us.

President Trump has led an enormous coalition, including those very same European partners -- those G7 partners to which you refer who have helped us get to this point. I have every expectation that they will continue to do that.

There are always irritants in relationships. I'm very confident the relationships between our countries -- the United States and those G7 countries will continue to be -- move forward on a strong basis.

I'm unconcerned about our capacity to continue to do what we need to do to get the outcome we're looking for in North Korea as a result of what you described having taken place in Canada.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you agree with that statement, sir (ph)?

SANDERS: Thank you.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right.

Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. It's Monday, June 11th.

Alisyn is in New York. I'm John Berman here in Singapore.

You've been watching U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo brief the press. We are just hours away from the historic summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

And we did just learn a few details about this meeting. We just learned that it will be a one-on-one affair, largely. President Trump and Kim Jong Un will meet together in a room completely alone, except for their translators, for up to two hours before members of the various delegations come in.

The secretary of state also said that the goal of this meeting will be to set the conditions, probably, for future meetings. The ultimate goal is denuclearization. In order to get there, and only if the North Koreans get there, he says, will the U.S. life sanctions on that country.

He did say the U.S. is prepared to do things it had never done before in this relationship and in these negotiations.

We're going to analyze all of this in just moments.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, to be a fly on the wall for that one-on-one meeting, John. So obviously, you'll bring us all the developments as soon as they break in Singapore.

Meanwhile, President Trump is escalating his war of words with America's closest allies after pulling out of this joint G7 statement, as the president's top economic advisers claim that Justin Trudeau, of Canada, betrayed President Trump.

It also goes so far as to say there is a "special place in hell" -- that's a quote -- for leaders who engage in bad-faith diplomacy with President Trump.

So, so much has happened, John, this weekend in terms of allies versus the president sitting down with a man regarded as a dictator. I mean, this is -- the paradox of all of this is not lost on all of our foreign policy experts who we will be speaking with throughout the program.

BERMAN: Yes, no question about that. The president getting ready to sit down with one of America's greatest adversaries, even as he leaves behind some of America's closest friends that he has greatly offended in just the last few days.

Let's get to our top story. We just did hear from the secretary of state.

Our White House correspondent Kaitlin Collins helping us cover that. Kaitlin, what have we learned now?

COLLINS: That's right, John.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo just left the room after briefing reporters.