President Donald Trump cancelled on Thursday a planned meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that would have marked a historic development between the rival countries.

Trump wrote in a letter to Kim that he based his decision on the “tremendous anger and open hostility displayed in your most recent statement".

"Therefore, please let this letter serve to represent that the Singapore summit, for the good of both parties, but to the detriment of the world, will not take place," he added, according to a copy of the letter provided by the White House.

“This missed opportunity is a truly sad moment in history." 

Trump and Kim were planned to meet in the Southeast Asian city-state of Singapore on June 12 in what would have been a historic sit-down between a serving U.S. president and a North Korean leader.