Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani has boasted the president's tough line forced the North Korean leader to 'beg' to re-schedule a high-profile summit after the US abruptly called off the meeting.
After the cancellation, "Kim Jong Un got back on his hands and knees and begged for it, which is exactly the position you want to put him in," the former New York Mayor Giuliani told a business conference in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv.
In an interview later with The Associated Press, Giuliani rejected suggestions such comments might sour the atmosphere ahead of next week's summit, saying that the North Korean leader must understand the United States is in a position of strength.
"It is pointing out that the president is the stronger figure," Giuliani said.
"And you're not going to have useful negotiations unless he accepts that."
Giuliani said Trump had no choice but to call off the meeting after the North Koreans insulted Vice President Mike Pence, National Security Adviser John Bolton and threatened "nuclear annihilation" of the US.
He said Kim quickly changed his position, expressed willingness to discuss denuclearisation and asked to have the meeting again.
"That's what I mean by begging for it," Giuliani said.
The summit is back on in Singapore next Tuesday.
Giuliani, Trump's lawyer in the Russian investigation, noted that he was sharing a personal opinion and was not part of the US foreign policy team.
The former New York mayor is in Israel for a number of appearances, including a speech to a Tel Aviv business conference and an address to OneFamily, a group that supports Israeli families whose loved ones have been wounded or killed in Palestinian attacks.
Speaking earlier at the conference, Giuliani suggested high-pressure tactics should be used with the Palestinian Authority, which has cut off ties with the US to protest Trump's decision to recognise contested Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
"They have to be seeking peace. You've got to change the dynamic and put the pressure on them," he said.
Giuliani is leading the defence of Trump in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into whether Trump associates coordinated with Russia during the 2016 presidential election, and whether Trump took steps to shut down that investigation through actions, including the firing of FBI Director James Comey.
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