The nuclear summit between President Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un fell apart Thursday when the parties failed to reach a deal over the issue of sanctions relief.

In a news conference Trump explained the meeting ended abruptly because of Kim's insistence on lifting sanctions without committing to the elimination of his country's nuclear arsenal.

“I am always prepared to walk,” Trump told reporters. “I am never afraid to walk from a deal.”

President Donald Trump said he had walked away from a nuclear deal at his summit with Kim Jong Un in Vietnam on Thursday because of unacceptable demands from the North Korean leader to lift punishing U.S.-led sanctions.

Trump said two days of talks in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi had made good progress in building relations and on the key issue of denuclearization, but it was important not to rush into a bad deal.

Kim wanted sanctions to be “lifted in their entirety and we wouldn’t do that,” the president said.

President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un failed to reach a nuclear agreement during their second summit, which was abruptly cut short in Hanoi, Vietnam on Thursday afternoon.

Speaking to reporters following his negotiations with Kim, Trump said there were two sticking points that had made a deal “inappropriate” at this time. Kim wanted sanctions to be “lifted in their entirety and we wouldn’t do that,” the president said.