The failure of this week’s Hanoi Summit between President Trump and Kim
Jong Un looked pretty negative at first. North Korea’s foreign minister
even expressed doubts about whether future talks were going to happen .
But the state media, the most reliable metric of where North Korea’s government stands on international issues is taking a much different tack. They are focusing on the progress that was made, and the hopes for the future talks.
The Rodong newspaper hailed the “constructive and candid exchange of
opinions” between the two sides, and was quick to say that the North
Korean government was not going to walk away from the opportunity for
more talks.
US officials have also said they intend to continue to talks. So far,
however, neither side has provided any indication on when the two sides
will get together again, and it’s likely to be lower-level talks for the
time being.
There remains the not so irrelevant question of who lied about the absolutely major issue of the number and type of sanctions (= US bargaining chips) to be removed to reach some interim agreement on U235 enrichment. President Trump or the Government of North Korea? A follow-up question is why did Trump or Kim lie? In negotiations proven liars should lose credibility because the other party must now assume that some or all of the next proposals could be merely non-serious trial balloons.
At this point Trump has been accused by Kim of lying. Trump has not returned that accusation (yet) and it seems that both want to forget who lied which is dumb negotiating.
Has this issue already arrived to be buried in the halls of historians?
Meanwhile North Korea continues to be a nuclear power.
And here is a much-ignored truth. Our President is commonly called “the most powerful person on Earth.” Nonsense. Every person who has his/her finger on a nuclear button is a “most powerful person on Earth” because that person can destroy all primates and other species. We are right in the middle of a demonstration of that truth with the mutual Pakistan-India air attacks.
Trump is second (or first) among equals due to the size of the US arsenal.
Would be nice if most posters here did the same, but it’s all anti-Trump 24/7.
And yet that pales in comparison to Raimondo’s Trump hero worshipping.
You know Justin is dying, right? How about show the man some respect.
I have empathy for people with dire medical conditions. I respect people for different reasons but none of them include their health.
All Trump had to do was to sign a peace treated as a first step and work his way from there. Instead he decides to shoot for the moon with a bow and arrow.
It seems that another article on antiwar.com supplies a possible answer to questions raised in this one: South Korean President Will Work to Help US, North Korea Reach a Deal
To me it’s obvious that the more important and overarching deal is the long-term planning and dealing between the South and North. The US just needs to nod really. And in the mean time these summits seem more like show & symbolism. They can still facilitate something but having the summit at all benefits both participants at this stage. Not having a deal right now might benefit only the Trump administration. Or at least signing a deal would not immediately benefit them so why would they? They can probably time this better in any case.
Sadly enough, all the leverage of North Korea ever had is wrapped up in some form of destruction and human cost to fix or prevent escalations. Signing away the whole nuclear program is not going to given NK any better position with the eye on any future conflict of interest. Opening economic ties around or despite any sanctions might be for them a better “deal”, for now.