Concrete moves needed for denuclearization

Absent the widely anticipated agreement on a second summit meeting between the leaders of the United States and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s fourth trip to Pyongyang did not produce the widely expected outcome. Yet let’s not call the visit fruitless. Considering the top US diplomat did not even meet with Kim Jong-un on his last visit, and he and Kim talked for two hours this time, with the latter promising to continue working toward denuclearization, it was as said “better than last time”.

Both Pyongyang and Washington have expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of progress made since US President Donald Trump and Kim met in Singapore in June, and they have both questioned the other’s sincerity. While Washington has insisted Pyongyang has not done enough to denuclearize, the latter has argued it needed to see the former reciprocate.

Pyongyang having dismantled a nuclear test site and then missile facilities, agreeing to a peace treaty to end the 1950-53 war, which concluded with armistice, would have cost nearly nothing on Washington’s part and been a reciprocal sign of good faith, especially given Pyongyang had earlier offered to dismantle another nuclear site.

With a peace treaty seemingly not yet forthcoming, that Pyongyang and Washington have reaffirmed their shared willingness to sustain their detente is in itself surely something worth celebrating. With all that has happened, or not happened, a common resolve to keep things moving forward toward amicable relations and denuclearization of the peninsula is surely precious.

The short trajectory of the latest US-DPRK detente has already shown that as long as both parties demonstrate sincerity, previously unimaginable things may happen. Just months back, who would anticipate Pyongyang being so enthusiastic about ending animosity, even willing to negotiate over nuclear weapons, which it had long held as non-negotiable?

It certainly would have been better had Pompeo left Pyongyang with an agreement on a second summit meeting. But once the two leaders do meet again, no matter where, no matter when, they will have to have in place something concrete to deliver. The two parties obviously need more time for that.

The bargaining will be tougher going forward — as one official on Pompeo’s team observed, it is likely to be a long haul.

But the detente, and denuclearization, will surely not be materialized with the United Nations sanctions now in place. Pyongyang has just reiterated denuclearization will not happen unilaterally, the ball is in Washington’s court.