Singapore; June 13, 2018
“Nearly five hours of unprecedented and surreal talks between US President Donald Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong-un culminated on Tuesday with fulsome declarations of a new friendship but just vague pledges of nuclear disarmament.” Reported Yuli Yang, Sophie Jeong, Yoonjung Seo and Jeff Zeleny of CNN in Singapore.
Though Trump announced like Triumphant about the outcome, the tangible commitments as a result of this summit is unclear. Trump has announced an end of the regular military exercise with South Korea but nuclear disarmament of North Korea is yet to be seen.
"We both want to do something. We both are going to do something. And we have developed a very special bond," Trump said at the conclusion of the summit. "People are going to be very impressed. People are going to be very happy."
Though the contents of the joint statement by US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have not yet been made public, alert photographers made it easy for journalists world over. After the two leaders signed the statement, Trump in his usual act displayed the document to the media sitting in front.
"President Trump committed to provide security guarantees to the DPRK, and Chairman Kim Jong Un reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula," it reads.
According to CNN; the document Trump and Kim signed "reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula." In exchange, Trump agreed to "provide security guarantees" to North Korea. But there was no mentioning the previous US aim of "complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation." And Kim's commitments did not appear to go beyond what he already pledged to do in April when he met South Korean President Moon Jae-in along their countries' border.
Trump insisted during a news conference the agreement went further than many people expected. But he acknowledged the effort to rid North Korea of its nuclear bombs was in its early stages.
Trump, acknowledging the effort to rid North Korea of its nuclear bombs was in its early stages, said, "We will do it as fast as it can mechanically and physically be done,"
Concluding the summit, Trump announced the talks being historic, and his personal achievement, though the initiator of the talks were North Koreans. He said, "We learned a lot about each other and our countries," Trump said. "I learned he's a very talented man." He praised Kim to "take over a situation like he did at 26 years of age and run it, and run it tough." Kim assumed power after his father Kim Jong Il died in 2011.
Trump also suggested to eventually withdraw US forces from South Korea, but said "that's not part of the equation right now." He said "I want to get our soldiers out. I want to bring our soldiers back home… but that's not part of the equation right now. I hope it will be eventually."
Regardless of the scepticism around the world about the tangible outcomes, the landmark summit marked the first stage in a process that the US, Japan, China and South Korea hope will lead to denuclearisation on the Korean peninsula.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the summit as "an important milestone" toward the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
Guterres urged all those concerned to "seize this momentous opportunity" and again offered UN help to achieve the goal of dismantling North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
Ahead of the summit, Guterres stressed that a "verifiable denuclearization" must be the "clear goal" of the summit and said experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) could help verify that Pyongyang's weapons program has been dismantled.
And, as Trump Kim held their summit, a wary China made out a case for lifting of UN sanctions against Pyongyang and highlighted its central role in working out a new peace mechanism for the Korean Peninsula.
Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said "to solve this problem, of course, we need to achieve denuclearisation and complete denuclearisation", but "at the same time, we must also establish a peninsula peace mechanism and resolve the reasonable security concerns of North Korea,"
Highlighting the central role for China, which is a close ally of North Korea, the Chinese Foreign Minister said, "I don't think anyone would doubt the unique and important role China has played in this process, and it will continue to play.
China had provided its aircraft to Kim to travel to Singapore. There is also speculation that the North Korean leader would visit Beijing on his way back from Singapore, or will soon apprise Chinese President Xi Jinping about his talks with Trump.
The South Korean president’s office said there were no immediate plans for three-way talks between the Koreas and the US to sign a peace treaty to formally end the Korean War. In April, Moon and Kim had pledged to sign such a treaty this year.
Trump praised Kim’s dictatorial style saying, “He’s the head of a country, and I mean he’s the strong head,” Trump told Fox News Channel. “Don’t let anyone think anything different. He speaks and his people sit up at attention. I want my people to do the same.”
On the other hand, a day after Donald Trump gave the world his version of the historic talks with Kim Jong-un, North Korean media provided the Kim's version of the talks.
North Korean state news agency KCNA highlighted it as a win for Kim. The news agency said the halt to joint military exercises would continue while the US and North Korea undertook “goodwill dialogue”.
North Korea also highlighted Trump's offer of security guarantees and a lifting of economic sanctions as negotiations advance and the mutual relationship improves.
Kim underlined Trump’s “bold decision on halting irritating and hostile military actions”, which, according to KCNA, came after Kim told Trump the two sides should stop antagonising one another.
KCNA reported that Kim had won support from Trump for “the principle of step-by-step and simultaneous action in achieving peace”.
“Kim Jong-un clarified the stand that if the US side takes genuine measures for building trust in order to improve the DPRK-US relationship, the DPRK, too, can continue to take additional goodwill measures of the next stage commensurate with them,” said the KCNA report.
This means the US must offer concessions before it will see further steps from North Korea. The need for "simultaneous" action may be the reason nothing more concrete was signed at the summit, and why there was as yet no agreement for a peace treaty to end the Korean War, despite high expectations.
The version presented to the North Korean public in some ways presents a mirror image of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s depiction of the US side as tough negotiators who were unwilling to budge on the demand for complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation by North Korea.
Through the lens of the North Korean media reports, according to KCNA, it was Kim who held the North Korean line and was the tough negotiator.
Kim had gladly accepted an invitation to travel to the United States, and Trump to North Korea, it said. Trump said nothing on Tuesday about visiting the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, and said Kim’s visit to the White House would happen “at the appropriate time”
Whatever the long term outcome of this summit is, it appears that the efforts for a World War III by war mongers and the profiteers of the wars, has been hampered - well, at least for the time being.
