North Korea: US now ‘worse off’ than before Trump-Kim summit

ANTHONY WALLACE | AFP | Getty Images

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un (L) walks out with US President Donald Trump (R) to face the media after taking part in a signing ceremony at the end of their historic US-North Korea summit, at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa island in Singapore on June 12, 2018.

Even during the June summit, King said, both parties seemed to have misunderstood to what the other was agreeing.

“Trump thinks he (Kim) said he will give up his nukes and then we will work toward some kind of peace deal. But in Kim’s mind, it is the end of the U.S.-South Korea alliance first and then maybe he will denuclearize,” King said.

King suggested that part of the problem was a difference of opinion about strategy within the White House.

“You have a professional staff that is talking a hard line, and the president feels he could do his own deal based on personal chemistry. It is like we have two parallel administrations and North Korea is trying to exploit that,” King said.

Moving forward, King said the U.S. should take a tougher stance against China and North Korea if denuclearization is a priority.

— Reuters and CNBC’s Christina Wilkie contributed to this report