Shah: Nuke Talks Back on Because NKorea 'Responded the Right Way'

The summit between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un is back on track because the North Koreans "responded the right way" to the president's decision to pull out, White House spokesman Raj Shah said Thursday.

"Right now we have ongoing conversations. They are going very well, as the president indicated. And we're looking forward to the expected summit on June 12, should things go as they have been going over the last few days," Shah told Fox News' "Happening Now."

Meanwhile, the United States policy for the talks is the "complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean peninsula," said Shah, and that has not changed.

"Now, it is our job to work with the North Koreans to get both sides there, and they've asked for security assurances and some help with economic revitalization and access to foreign investment," said Shah. "So there is a deal to be had and we're working with the North Koreans to try to get there."

Trump will have a Thursday night meeting with some of the families of the Santa Fe High School shooting victims, and Shah said the president wants to extend his condolences and speak about school safety.

"The president of the United States is also a father, also a husband, and he obviously understands what it's like, you know, to love someone and then to lose someone," said Shah, "and so I think he is approaching these situations as a human being and as an individual, as a parent and not necessarily as a politician or as a leader."

Shah also discussed the ongoing claims made over the reasons Trump fired former FBI Director James Comey, saying that it's a "non-stop narrative" that Trump took action over the Russia investigation, but that is not true.

"The president fired James Comey for a variety of reasons," said Shah. "He said on national television it is because of James Comey's handling of the Clinton investigation and the letter that the Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had sent him. There are also a number of reasons.

"He has leaked confidential information. He gave false statements under oath to congress. There are a myriad of reasons to fire James Comey, not just one. And he was -- as he has repeatedly said it is one of the better decisions and one of the best decisions he has made as president of the United States."

• Top North Korean Adviser Meets Pompeo in New York to Plan Summit
• WH: Trump Still Planning for June Summit With NKorea