SINGAPORE – Claiming success at their whirlwind summit, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump left Singapore yesterday, praising their face-to-face progress toward ridding the Korean Peninsula of nuclear weapons. Yet Trump faced pointed questions at home about whether he got little and gave away much – including an agreement to halt US military exercises with South Korea.
Both leaders expressed optimism throughout roughly five hours of talks, with Trump thanking Kim afterward “for taking the first bold step toward a bright new future for his people.” Kim, for his part, said the leaders had “decided to leave the past behind” and promised: “The world will see a major change.”
Soon, Kim was on a plane headed home, while a clearly ebullient Trump held forth for more than an hour before the press on what he styled as a historic achievement to avert the prospect of nuclear war. Along the way, Trump tossed out pronouncements on US alliances, human rights, and the nature of the accord that he and Kim had signed.
Then he was off to Guam on the way back to the US.
The details of how and when North Korea would denuclearize appear yet to be determined, as are the nature of the unspecified “protections” Trump is pledging to Kim and his government.
During his press conference, Trump acknowledged that denuclearization won’t happen overnight. But he contended, “Once you start the process it means it’s pretty much over,” an analysis that has proven faulty in the past despite inspection efforts.
Light on specifics, the Singapore accord largely amounts to an agreement to continue discussions, echoing previous public statements and commitments. It does not, for instance, include an agreement to take steps toward ending the technical state of warfare between the US and North Korea.
Nor does it include a striking concession by Trump, who told reporters he would freeze US military “war games” with ally South Korea while negotiations between the US and Pyongyang continue. Trump cast that decision as a cost-saving measure, but also called the exercises “inappropriate” while talks continue. North Korea has long objected to the drills as a security threat.
It was unclear whether South Korea was aware of Trump’s decision before he announced it publicly. US Forces Korea said in a statement yesterday it was unaware of any policy change. Trump phoned South Korean President Moon Jaein after leaving Singapore to brief him on the discussions.
Trump also said he’d obtained a separate concession from Kim to demolish a missile engine testing site, though it was just one site of many connected to the nuclear program.
As Trump took a victory lap on the world stage, experts and allies struggled to account for what Trump and Kim had agreed to – and whether this agreement could actually be the first of its kind not to be broken by the North Koreans.
North Korea is believed to possess more than 50 nuclear warheads, with its atomic program reportedly spread across more than 100 sites constructed over decades to evade international inspections. Trump insisted that strong verification of denuclearization would be
included in a final agreement, saying it was a detail his team would begin sorting out with the North Koreans next week.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (left) and US President Donald Trump pose with their folders after signing documents at the Capella Resort Hotel on Singapore’s Sentosa Island yesterday. – AP
