Regina Leader-Post

THE HISTORIC SUMMIT BETWEEN THE LEADERS OF NORTH KOREA AND THE U.S. PRODUCED A TWO-PAGE AGREEMENT TO ‘DENUCLEARI­ZE’ THE KOREAN PENINSULA. WHAT’S IN IT, WHAT’S MISSING, WHO WINS AND WHO LOSES.

Over the course of nearly five hours, Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un strolled, lunched and talked in a bid to ease decades of tensions between adversarie­s. The president praised Kim for entering into negotiatio­ns with the U.S., and called the meeting “a ver

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DENUCLEARI­ZATION ON THE PENINSULA

The U.S. and North Korea agreed to seek “complete denucleari­zation of the Korean Peninsula.” However, no deadline was set and the path to disarmamen­t was left undefined. Trump said he thinks his North Korean counterpar­t will live up to it. “It’s very comprehens­ive,” the president said. “It’s going to happen.” Trump later told reporters aboard Air Force One that he believes Kim will deliver on his commitment to denucleari­ze, citing his experience with the dictator in the runup to the summit. “From the time I’ve dealt with him, which is really starting like 90 days ago, it’s been very strong,” Trump said. “I think he wants to get it done.” Kim has “got a total plan” Trump added, without elaboratin­g. Still, “we’re going to have to check it, and we will check.” The document doesn’t include the words “complete, verifiable and irreversib­le” — the baseline U.S. demand for denucleari­zation before lifting sanctions — and omits Kim’s previous pledges to halt missile and nuclear testing. “It greatly reduces the likelihood of armed conflict in the near future,” said Thomas Countryman, who was assistant secretary of state for internatio­nal security and non-proliferat­ion during the Obama administra­tion. “But the document lacks substance. It says less than previous agreements the U.S. has reached with the DPRK, and leaves open key questions that would normally have been resolved prior to such a summit.”

WHAT U.S. ALLIES LOSE

Japan, the chief U.S. ally in the region, got none of what it wanted — Kim made no promise to address the issue of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea, and he offered no limits on his ballistic missile programs. Neither the U.S. nor the South Korean government would confirm that the Trump administra­tion warned President Moon Jae In ahead of time about the decision to suspend exercises. A spokesman with Moon’s office, who asked not to be identified to discuss internal deliberati­ons, said the government was still trying to understand Trump’s “exact meaning or intentions” with the military freeze. At the same time, the spokesman didn’t condemn the decision, and Seoul has repeatedly pressed for a cautious approach to North Korea rather than the hasty agreement that Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had originally pursued.

WHAT CHINA WINS

China is certainly going to like the outcome of the summit. For years, Beijing has backed a strategy they call “dual suspension” or “freeze for freeze.” It calls for North Korea to suspend nuclear weapons testing in return for a suspension of U.S. military exercises in South Korea. And it got its wish. Trump said the United States would suspend “war games,” which he described as “expensive” and “very provocativ­e.” It’s worth noting that Trump’s promise to suspend war games did not appear to come with a comparable concession from the North Korean side. Instead, North Korea simply reiterated an existing commitment to denucleari­zation without specifying what that means or when it could happen. That appears to be a win for Kim and his backers in Beijing. Also, Trump appears to have adapted some of China’s language — which Chinese diplomats will love. The U.S. has had a military presence in South Korea for decades, which it and South Korea have long maintained is necessary for defence — and as a deterrent to North Korean aggression. North Korea and China see the presence of U.S. troops in South Korea as a threat and an affront. When it comes to U.S.-South Korea war games, the word “provocatio­n” is usually coming from Pyongyang or Beijing, not the United States — let alone the U.S. president. “China’s objectives on the Korean Peninsula have been to maintain stability, encourage North Korea’s denucleari­zation, and reduce U.S. influence,” said Abraham Denmark, director of Asia program at the Woodrow Wilson Internatio­nal Center for Scholars. “Today, Beijing got everything that they wanted.”

‘WAR GAMES’ STILL ON

At the U.S. military command in South Korea, officials reacted with uncertaint­y to the suspension of the military exercises. Col. Jennifer Lovett, a spokeswoma­n, said the command “has received no updated guidance on execution or cessation of training exercises.” Those exercises include the Ulchi Freedom Guardian drills scheduled for August. “We will continue with our current military posture” until further notice, she said. In Washington, officials at the Pentagon, State Department and White House were scrambling to figure out exactly the impact of Trump’s comments.

SOLDIERS’ REMAINS

Nestled in the document was a short bullet point that addresses a long-running concern of U.S. veterans groups: the recovery of the remains of thousands of American soldiers who were killed or captured in North Korea during the Korean War. The two countries agreed to “commit” to recovering the remains of fallen soldiers, “including the immediate repatriati­on of those already identified,” according to the document. The remains of 5,300 American soldiers who were killed or captured in North Korea during the war remain unaccounte­d for north of the demilitari­zed zone, resting in cemeteries, former labour camps and battle sites. From 1990 to 2005, joint U.S.-North Korean search teams repatriate­d 229 sets of remains. But the cooperatio­n between the United States and North Korea was abruptly suspended in 2005 as political relations deteriorat­ed. Last week, South Korean President Moon expressed hope that Pyongyang might allow teams to start recovering the remains of South Korean soldiers. More than 120,000 South Korean soldiers who fought in the war remain unaccounte­d for, many thought to be lost on the North Korean side.

THINGS UNADDRESSE­D

Other highly sensitive matters, including the North’s brutal human rights abuses and the economic sanctions imposed by the United States, were left unaddresse­d. Trump bristled when asked if he had offered Kim’s brutal regime, which has sent up to 100,000 North Koreans to hard labour camps, validation on the world stage. “I’ll do whatever it takes to make the world a safer place,” the president responded. “If I have to say I’m sitting on a stage with Chairman Kim and that’s going to get us to save 30 million lives, could be more than that, I’m willing to sit on the stage.” Trump said he would keep the sanctions in place until the North demonstrat­ed tangible steps toward disarmamen­t. Asked why his negotiatin­g team had failed to lock down specific promises from Pyongyang, Trump protested: “Because there’s no time. I’m here one day ... But the process is now going to take place.”

 ?? CHUNG SUNG-JUN/GETTY IMAGES/FILES ?? South Korean marines participat­e in a landing operation with U.S. soldiers in April 2017 in Pohang, South Korea. At the U.S. military command in South Korea, officials reacted with uncertaint­y to the suspension of joint military exercises on the Korean Peninsula.
CHUNG SUNG-JUN/GETTY IMAGES/FILES South Korean marines participat­e in a landing operation with U.S. soldiers in April 2017 in Pohang, South Korea. At the U.S. military command in South Korea, officials reacted with uncertaint­y to the suspension of joint military exercises on the Korean Peninsula.

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