Trump wanted to move up N Korea summit at the last minute: Report

US President Donald Trump attempted to push up his historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un after arriving in Singapore two days before it was planned to take place, a new report has revealed.

The Washington Post reported on Friday that Trump grew bored as he waited for the summit on Tuesday and wanted to move it up to Monday, but his aides finally convinced him into sticking to the schedule.

"We’re here now," Trump said as he waited for the summit. "Why can’t we just do it?"

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders convinced Trump to stick to the original plan and advised him to use the time before the summit to prepare for it, the Post reported.

They also told Trump that if he pushed the meeting up, it might not get the good media coverage in the United States.  Their trick worked and Trump agreed with them.

Trump and Kim arrived in Singapore on Sunday in anticipation of the first ever face-to-face meeting between leaders of the two countries, which have remained enemies since the 1950-1953 Korean War.

"Great to be in Singapore, excitement in the air!" Trump tweeted on Monday morning. He had lunch with Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the country's presidential palace, where he said Tuesday's meeting would be "very interesting".

Following Tuesday’s summit, Trump and Kim signed a document described by the American leader as important and comprehensive.

The document says the US and North Korea “commit to establish [sic] new... relations in accordance with the desire of the peoples of the two countries for peace and prosperity."

Trump has sounded a triumphant tone since the Singapore summit, but his critics have pointed to the vague wording of the non-binding document, which Trump called a "deal”.

 Trump: I don’t want to see a North Korean nuke hitting US

Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Friday, Trump said he has not criticized North Korea's human rights record because he has been prioritizing avoiding a nuclear war.

Trump was asked how he can defend the North Korean leader on human rights while still denouncing the circumstances that led to the death of Otto Warmbier, an American agent who was detained while visiting North Korea.

“You know why?" Trump responded. "Because I don’t want to see a nuclear weapon destroy you and your family."

“I want to have a good relationship with North Korea. I want to have a good relationship with many other countries,” he added. 

US nuclear stand-off with North Korea 'largely solved'

Elsewhere in his remarks, Trump said Washington's nuclear stand-off with North Korea "largely solved".

Trump told reporters that he is now in direct contact with Kim and that their "good relationship" had ended the risk of conflict.

"I have solved that problem," Trump told reporters. "Now we're getting it memorialized and all, but that problem is largely solved."

"We signed a very good document," he added. "But more importantly than the document, I have a good relationship with Kim Jong-un," he added. 

"That's a very important thing. I can now call him. I gave him a very direct number. He can now call me if he has any difficulty. We have communication," Trump revealed. 

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