Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump shake hands
Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump shake handsReuters

U.S. President Donald Trump insisted on Tuesday that North Korea is making progress in dismantling its nuclear program, The Associated Press reported.

Trump made the remarks while speaking to business leaders at a dinner at his New Jersey golf club.

According to the report, he said Pyongyang is adhering to the agreements he made with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at their Singapore summit in June.

Trump also seemed to suggest Beijing may have played a role in slowing down progress, saying, "China may be doing a little number on us." He did not elaborate, however.

Trump’s comments are different from the ones made on Monday by his National Security Advisor, John Bolton, who said that North Korea had not yet taken significant steps to get rid of its nuclear weapons project.

During the historic summit between Trump and Kim in Singapore in June, the two leaders signed an agreement including a commitment to achieve total denuclearization of Korea, with promises to pursue “vigorous negotiations” to that end.

Subsequent reports suggested that despite its commitment to denuclearize, North Korea has continued to expand infrastructure at nuclear and missile sites.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said late last month that North Korea is continuing to produce fissile material for nuclear bombs in spite of its pledge to denuclearize.