Kim will ‘dance rings’ around Trump
Donald Trump is on course to grant Kim Jong-un new concessions without forcing him into any meaningful commitments, with the North Korean leader ‘‘dancing rings’’ around him at this week’s summit, Britain’s former ambassador to the country has warned.
John Everard, who spent two years in Pyongyang, said the meeting between the US and North Korean leaders in Vietnam was ‘‘dangerous’’ because Trump appeared driven by securing a ‘‘shiny object’’ he could tout at home rather than delivering lasting change. Everard warned against signing a full peace treaty to end the Korean War – one of the possible outcomes of the talks – by saying it would hand Kim a political win while undermining American troops stationed in South Korea.
He said there was only a ‘‘very small’’ chance Kim was prepared to give up his nuclear weapons, noting he had performed ‘‘well beyond his wildest expectations’’ by securing a meeting with the US president and avoiding attack.
Everard downplayed the stereotype of the young North Korean leader as unhinged, saying that Kim, 35, has proven himself to be a wily negotiator.
‘‘There are no grounds whatever to think that Kim Jongun is crazy,’’ Everard said. ‘‘On the contrary, he shows every sign of being methodical, calculating [and] really quite savvy in all kinds of ways.’’
Everard was the UK ambassador to North Korea between 2006 and 2008 and later co-ordinator for the United Nations panel of experts on sanctions against the regime.
He is one of the few diplomats to have seen the North Korean regime close up, living in Pyongyang and interacting with its officials.
Trump is due to meet Kim for a second time at a summit in Hanoi tomorrow and Friday following their talks in Singapore last June.
The US wants concrete promises to back up Kim’s loose support for full denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, made at the earlier summit. Pyongyang wants economic sanctions relief.
Everard was withering in his assessment of Trump’s record on North Korea and the chances of success in Vietnam. ‘‘This is dangerous. It’s looking very much as if we are heading for Singapore mark two, with Kim Jong-un once again dancing rings around Donald Trump,’’ Everard said.
‘‘Kim Jong-un has prepared very carefully for this summit. He’s talked to his own people, of course, he’s talked to the Chinese and he will have a very clear idea of what he wants out of it.
‘‘For Donald Trump, I think the big fear is he is driven by domestic considerations. He wants a shiny object to show everybody and offset all the problems he faces back in Washington.
‘‘The danger is that . . . the North Koreans manage to get Trump to agree to more of their wish list whilst offering only token concessions.’’