This post was originally published on this site
President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he wasn’t worried about a recent threat from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, amid floundering nuclear talks between the U.S. and North Korea.
“We’ll find out what the surprise is and we’ll deal with it very successfully,” said Trump, speaking with reporters at his resort at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., on Tuesday morning, a day before Christmas.
“Maybe it’s a nice present,” he told reporters. “Maybe it’s a present where he sends me a beautiful vase.”
Trump’s comments came after North Korea’s promise earlier this month to deliver a “Christmas Gift” unless Washington abides by an end-of-year deadline set by Pyongyang for concessions in exchange for a possible deal to curb its nuclear weapons program.
Via state-owned media, North Korea’s Ri Thae Song, vice minister of foreign affairs, in a statement wrote that a year-end time limit was nearing for the conclusion of talks between North Korea and the U.S.
However, China, Japan and South Korea have agreed to work together to promote dialogue between the United States and North Korea, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Tuesday following a summit between the three countries in China, according to Reuters.
Washington and North Korea’s exchange may be providing a slight headwind for U.S. stock indexes in an abbreviated session of trading on Christmas Eve, with equity markets set to close at 1 p.m. Eastern Time.
Gold may also be scoring a lift, with the February contract GCG20, +0.99% retaking a psychological significant level at $1,500 an ounce on the geopolitical tensions after stocks forged a nearly unimpeded ride to records over the past week.
Indeed, the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.09%, the S&P 500 SPX, -0.02% and the Nasdaq Composite COMP, +0.02% indexes were edging lower but within striking distance of all-time highs.
