Kim’s charm offensive puts pressure on Trump
North Korean dictator’s actions lead to hope for end to peninsula conflict
Kim Jong Un is turning on the charm ahead of his summit with Donald Trump, adding pressure on the U.S. president to ease sanctions against North Korea even before it has made any significant concessions.
The 34-year-old dictator plans to invite foreign journalists to witness the shutdown of North Korea’s main nuclear weapons test site in May, South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s spokesperson told reporters on Sunday.
The revelation came shortly after Kim pledged “complete denuclearization” at a meeting with Moon on Friday, without providing further detail. During that summit — the first time a North Korean leader has ever set foot on the southern side of the Peninsula — Kim and Moon shook hands, hugged and planted a tree. Kim capped it off with live remarks to reporters, something none of his predecessors had done.
“We underestimate Kim Jong Un at our peril,” said Ralph Cossa, president of Pacific Forum CSIS and a former special assistant to the commander of the U.S. Pacific Command. “His orchestration of events thus far has been exceptional.”
While Kim’s recent actions have spurred hope that the seven-decade conflict on the Korean Peninsula may be coming to an end, skeptics worry he’s simply buying time to reduce the risk of war and ease United Nations sanctions against his regime. Either way, he’s managed to shift international opinion in just months.
China appears to be loosening international sanctions on North Korea, and Moon left open the possibility of economic co-operation during his meeting with Kim. Those moves have come despite Trump’s pledge to maintain sanctions until denuclearization is accomplished.
“North Korea’s offer to shut down its nuclear test site in front of everyone could soften the mood and make the inter- national society to support its ‘sincerity,’ giving Kim Jong Un bargaining power ahead of his meeting with Trump,” said Namkoong Young, who has taught inter-Korean politics at Seoul-based Hankuk University of Foreign Studies for more than 25 years.
Kim told Moon that he “isn’t the type of person” to use nuclear weapons, and he had no reason to “live in difficulties” because of his arsenal if he can build trust with the U.S., South Korean presidential spokesperson Yoon Young-chan said. Last week, Kim said he would shut down his nuclear test site and halt missile testing as North Korea turns its attention to growing its economy.
Moon’s office said Sunday that he and Trump agreed in their phone call that the U.S. president should meet with Kim as soon as possible in a bid to maintain “the momentum of the success” of Friday’s historic meeting of the Korean leaders.