North Korean officials present at the dismantling of primary nuclear test site ‘shocked’ at the news of Trump pulling away from summit

BI reports that there was reportedly a “real sense of shock” among North Korean officials on Thursday when it came to light that President Donald Trump had canceled the impending summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

“I can tell you there was just a real sense of shock among… the North Korean officials,” said CNN reporter Will Ripley, who read the letter Trump wrote to Kim to the officials.

Ripley was part of a group of reporters in North Korea invited to witness the dismantling of its primary nuclear test site, a process he watched shortly before the news broke that Trump had canceled the meeting.

The North Korean officials didn’t give any official statement, Ripley said, but “immediately got up and left” to get on the phone and “relay the news up to the top.”