US envoy to brief Asia allies in Seoul
Halt to war games triggers concerns
SINGAPORE: The top US diplomat jetted to South Korea yesterday for talks as America’s Asian allies try to parse the implications of the unprecedented summit in Singapore between President Donald Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, which ended with a renewed commitment for a denuclearised Korean Peninsula but also a pledge by Mr Trump to end longstanding war games that unsettle Pyongyang.
Much of Asia was still trying to process the whirlwind events of the day before.
There was, at times, a surreal quality to the five-hour meeting of two men who’d been threatening each other with nuclear war and insulting each other’s mental and physical attributes just months before. Mr Trump repeatedly praised Mr Kim’s negotiating skills and their new relationship and expressed hope for “a bright new future” for Mr Kim’s impoverished nation.
Yesterday saw worries, however, especially in US allies Tokyo and Seoul, which both have huge US military presences, about Mr Trump agreeing to halt the US military exercises with South Korea, which the North has long claimed were invasion preparations. That concession to Mr Kim appeared to catch the Pentagon and officials in Seoul off guard.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo left Singapore yesterday on his way to Seoul, where he planned to meet privately in the evening with Gen Vincent Brooks, commander of US Forces Korea.
Mr Pompeo will meet President Moon Jae-in this morning to discuss the summit. Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono is also heading to Seoul and is due to meet with Mr Pompeo and his South Korean counterpart. Mr Pompeo, the former CIA director, plans to fly to Beijing to update the Chinese government on the talks.
On the issue the world has been most fixated on — North Korea’s pursuit of a nuclear arsenal meant to target the entire US mainland — Mr Trump and Mr Kim signed a joint statement that contained a
repeat of past vows to work toward a denuclearised Korean Peninsula. The details of how and when the North would denuclearise appear yet to be determined, as are the nature of the unspecified “protections” Mr Trump is pledging to Mr Kim and his government.
Despite the confusion and disappointment among some, the summit managed to, for a time at least, reset a relationship that has long been characterised by bloodshed and threats. It was unthinkable as the two leaders traded insults and nuclear threats. In agreeing to the summit, Mr Trump risked granting Mr Kim his long-sought recognition on the world stage in hopes of ending the North’s nuclear programme.
North Korea is believed to possess more than 50 nuclear warheads, with its atomic programme spread across more than 100 sites constructed over decades to evade international inspections. Mr Trump insisted that strong verification of denuclearisation would be included in a final agreement, saying it was a detail his team would begin sorting out with the North Koreans next week.
Mr Moon has championed engagement with the North, and the agreement’s language on North Korea’s nuclear programme was similar to what the leaders of North and South Korea came up with at their own summit in April. Mr Trump and Mr Kim referred back to the so-called Panmunjom Declaration, which contained a weak commitment to denuclearisation but no specifics on how to achieve it.
As Mr Trump acknowledged that denuclearisation would not be accomplished overnight, the North suggested yesterday that Mr Trump had moved away from his demand for complete denuclearisation before US sanctions on the long-isolated country are removed.
The state-run Korean Central News Agency said the two leaders “shared recognition to the effect that it is important to abide by the principle of step-by-step and simultaneous action in achieving peace, stability and denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula”. KCNA also reported that Mr Trump had expressed his intention to lift sanctions “over a period of good-will
dialogue” between the two countries.
The White House did not immediately respond to the North Korean characterisation of the deal.
The Singapore agreement does not detail plans for North Korea to demolish a missile engine testing site, a concession Mr Trump said he’d won, or Mr Trump’s promise to end military exercises in the South while negotiations between the US and the North continue. Mr Trump cast that decision as a cost-saving measure, but also called the exercises “inappropriate” while talks continue. North Korea has long objected to the drills as a security threat.
While progress on the nuclear question was murky, the leaders spent the public portions of their five hours together expressing optimism and making a show of their new relationship. Mr Trump declared he and Mr Kim had developed “a very special bond”, and seemed to delight in giving Mr Kim a glimpse of the
presidential limousine.
The US has stationed combat troops in South Korea since the end of the Korean War in the 1950s and has used them in a variety of drills. The next scheduled major exercise, involving tens of thousands of troops, normally is held in August.
The Pentagon said on Tuesday it was consulting with the White House and others, but was silent on whether the August exercise would proceed. Mr Mattis’ chief spokeswoman, Dana W White, told reporters he was “in full alignment’’ with Mr Trump.
Lawmakers, too, were looking for details. Republicans emerged from a meeting with Vice-President Mike Pence wanting more information on which exercises were on hold. Colorado Sen Corey Gardner said Mr Pence told them that small-scale exercises would continue, but “war games will not”. Mr Pence’s spokeswoman later denied that comment.
In Japan, the prospect of cancelled USSouth Korean drills was met with concern.
“The US-South Korea joint exercises and US forces in South Korea play significant roles for the security in East Asia,’’ Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera told reporters yesterday. He said he planned to continue sharing the view with Washington and Seoul.
South Koreans reacted to the summit’s outcome with cautious hope and concern.
The liberal Kyunghyang Shinmun newspaper said Mr Trump and Mr Kim have started a “march of peace” to end nearly seven decades of hostility and pave the way for permanent peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula.
The conservative Chosun Ilbo, the country’s biggest paper, was decidedly more critical, denouncing Mr Trump for offering the end military drills while failing to convince the North to commit to verifiably giving up its nukes for good.