New US-NK talks seen after 7 long months

SEVEN months have passed since United States President Donald Trump and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-Un met for the first time in a historic summit in Singapore on June 12, 2018. They had been trading insults and threats of nuclear annihilation for months, but now there was only goodwill and smiles as they shook hands and signed a document in which they agreed to work toward denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and Trump agreed to provide security guarantees to North Korea.

The subsequent months saw lower officials of the two countries meeting in Pyongyang, North Korea, but nothing of consequence appeared to have been agreed upon. Meanwhile, President Trump found himself embroiled in so many problems – a trade war with China, caravans of Central Americans threatening to overwhelm the US border with Mexico, losing battles with US courts over migrants and their children, and a midterm election last November in which Trump’s Republican Party lost the House of Representatives to the Democrats.

Last New Year’s Day, Kim Jong-Un spoke up in a televised speech, saying he was ready to meet Trump at anytime to produce an outcome that would be welcomed by the international community. But, he added, North Korea would be forced to take a different path if the US “misjudges the patience of our people by unilaterally demanding certain things and pushes ahead with sanctions and pressure.” President Trump quickly replied, “I also look forward to meeting with Chairman Kim who realizes so well that North Korea possesses great economic potential.”

It is said that a major obstacle to agreement is on the extent of nuclear disarmament by North Korea. It reportedly seeks an agreement that will freeze its rudimentary nuclear capability from advancing any further, while the US wants to totally eliminate that nuclear arsenal. The US would have to offer major inducements, including economic relief, to achieve this goal.

The passing of seven months since June without any word from negotiators was indeed discouraging. The nations around Korea, especially Japan and the Philippines, have long been waiting for a final agreement that would put an end to their fears of involvement in case of a nuclear war.

The latest exchange of statements between President Trump and Chairman Kim renews hopes that the talks which began on such a high note last June will now be restarted by the two nations. The gap that now separates them may seem immense but both President Trump and Chairman Kim have shown their readiness to explore all possibilities and negotiate. The world joins in the hope that they will soon find that elusive common ground on which they can base a lasting peace agreement.