Three things to catch up as Trump wraps up Vietnam visit

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Donald Trump said Sunday he backed US intelligence agencies who concluded that Russia meddled in the 2016 US presidential election, but repeated his trust in the sincerity of Vladimir Putin's denials and slammed critics of his relationship with the Russian leader.

Key former Trump aides are under US investigation for possible collaboration with the Kremlin and the issue of whether Moscow interfered with last year's vote has overshadowed the tail end of the president's ongoing Asia tour.

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands as they take part in a group photo at the APEC summit, November 11, 2017. ‍/Reuters Photo

Trump returned to the subject in an early morning Twitter storm, which also saw him take a sarcastic dig at Kim Jong Un, the top leader of Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), "short and fat."

Addressing a press conference in Hanoi, Trump was asked to clarify comments he had made on Air Force One the day before about Putin's insistence that Moscow had never tried to affect the outcome of the US vote.

"I believe he feels he and Russia did not meddle in the election," Trump said.

"As to whether or not I believe it or not, I'm with our agencies. I believe in our... intelligence agencies," he added.

In May, US intelligence chiefs told Congress they agreed with their analysts' conclusion that Russia had interfered in the election.

One-time adviser of US president-elect Donald Trump Carter Page addresses the audience during a presentation in Moscow, December 12, 2016. /Reuters Photo

CIA director Mike Pompeo, who was appointed by Trump, said he still believed in that evaluation in a statement to CNN Saturday.

In his barrage of tweets earlier Sunday, Trump slammed "haters and fools" who questioned his efforts to improve ties with Russia.

"There (sic) always playing politics – bad for our country. I want to solve North Korea (the DPRK), Syria, Ukraine, terrorism, and Russia can greatly help!" he said.

Screenshot of US President Donald Trump's tweet on Russia's election meddling.

'Short and fat'

Trump was in Hanoi for a brisk visit with Vietnam's top communist leaders to drum up trade deals and seek further support on containing DPRK's nuclear weapons ambitions, which have been a dominant theme on each leg of his Asia tour.

Citing descriptions by DPRK's officials and state media of him as an "old" man, another Trump tweet suggested he was disappointed by what he took to be a personal attack from DPRK's young leader.

"Why would Kim Jong Un insult me by calling me 'old,' when I would NEVER call him 'short and fat?'" Trump wrote.

"Oh well, I try so hard to be his friend – and maybe someday that will happen!" he added.

Screenshot of US President Donald Trump's tweet on the DPRK.

Later at the press conference, he insisted he hadn't been joking about eventually befriending a man he denounced just last week as a "twisted" dictator.

"It's certainly a possibility. If that did happen, it would be a good thing," he told reporters.

Pyongyang is extremely sensitive to any remarks that might appear disrespectful of the country's regime.

Since becoming president, Trump has engaged in an escalating war of words with Kim, trading personal insults and threats of military strikes and raising concerns about an outbreak of hostilities.

Reuters Photo

Over the past week, Trump has urged Asian leaders to take a united front against the threat posed by the isolated country, warning at APEC that the region "must not be held hostage."

Late Saturday, Pyongyang hit back, calling his Asia trip "a warmonger's visit for confrontation" and saying it would only serve to accelerate Pyongyang's push for nuclear statehood.

South China Sea support

In another tweet Sunday, Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping had agreed to toughen sanctions against the DPRK, whose impoverished economy is hugely reliant on trade with its giant neighbor.

"President Xi of China has stated that he is upping the sanctions against (North Korea). Said he wants them to denuclearize. Progress is being made," he wrote.

The US administration thinks China's economic leverage over Pyongyang is the key to strong-arming Pyongyang into halting its nuclear weapons and missile programs.

Trump left Hanoi for the Philippines later Sunday, the last stop in his marathon tour through Asia.

The Philippines and Vietnam are two countries that are in a row with Beijing over the South China Sea.

Vietnam's President Tran Dai Quang welcomes US President Donald Trump with a state banquet at the International Convention Center in Hanoi, November 11, 2017. /Reuters Photo

Trump said on Sunday that he was prepared to mediate between parities to the South China Sea, saying he is "a very good mediator and arbitrator."

"If I can help mediate or arbitrate, please let me know," Trump said in comments at a meeting in Hanoi with Vietnam's President Tran Dai Quang.

In the past, China has strongly rejected any outside mediation, saying it has indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and their adjacent waters.

Source(s): AFP ,Reuters