Trump Hails Progress in Kim Summit, Says ‘No Rush’

Slow but substantial progress continues in the Hanoi summit between President Trump and Kim Jong Un, with Trump saying that progress is being made, while continuing to reiterate that there is “no rush” to get through everything.

This is largely exactly what Trump was anticipating going into the talks, that the US intends to take matters slowly and deliberately. Apart from the continued growth of their personal friendship, a lot of  what is being agreed upon is unclear, and probably will remain so until the end of the summit.

That lack of specificity means that the high hopes for a formal peace declaration coming out of this summit remains speculative, at best. Asked on the matter, President Trump gave the always unhelpful answer that “we’ll see.”

With everything tangible going slowly, nothing can be confirmed, or ruled out, but so long as Trump remains upbeat, at the very least things can’t be said to be going badly. On top of that, a press conference saw Kim engaging with foreign press for the first time ever.

Trump has assured that he and Kim will “try hard” on finalizing the denuclearization process. Immediate interests seem to be in shuttering the Yongbyon reactor, the centerpiece of North Korea’s nuclear program.

Since Yongbyon is such a major ask, the North Koreans expect to get something out of shuttering it, and that’s likely to either mean a slight easing of some sanctions or a peace treaty. Though speculation was rife ahead of the talks that a peace treaty might be coming, this remains a reason to be hopeful.