US President Donald Trump says pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal would not have a negative impact on his upcoming nuclear talks with North Korea, and he said he would be open to negotiating a new nuclear accord with Tehran.
"I think it sends the right message," Trump told a news conference on Monday when asked if pulling out of the Iran deal would send the wrong message to Pyongyang.
"You know in seven years, that deal will have expired and Iran is free to go ahead and create nuclear weapons."
Trump declined to say whether the US would pull out of the nuclear deal before a May 12 deadline for a decision, saying: "We'll see what happens."
But he expressed his dissatisfaction with the pact.
"That is just not an acceptable situation. They're not sitting back idly. They're setting off missiles, which they say are for television purposes. I don't think so," Trump said, adding, "That doesn't mean we won't negotiate a real agreement."
Trump also said choosing the border between North and South Korea as the site for his expected meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in coming weeks could be the perfect backdrop if talks go well, after earlier touting the idea on Twitter.
"There's something that I like about it because you're there, you're actually there. Where, if things work out, there's a great celebration to be had on the site not in a third-party country," he told reporters at the White House, adding that Singapore was also under consideration.
"It has the chance to be a big event."
