US president Donald Trump has said his Singapore summit with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un “may not work out for June 12” and suggested there is a “substantial chance” it could be delayed.

He was speaking as he received South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in at the White House to discuss the summit.

Last week the North said it might cancel if the US insisted on it giving up nuclear weapons unilaterally.

The summit due to take place in Singapore follows a summit between Kim and Moon in April.

“If it does not happen, maybe it will happen later,” Trump was quoted as saying by AFP news agency at the start of his talks with Moon.

North Korea is expected to dismantle a nuclear test site this week as a goodwill gesture but this may be delayed by bad weather.

North Korea has already cancelled high-level talks with South Korea, saying the South’s joint military exercises with the US were a “provocation” and rehearsal for invasion.

Trump accepted North Korea’s invitation for direct talks after more than a year of heated rhetoric between Washington and Pyongyang, amid global concern hostility might escalate into military confrontation.