The smiles that could rid the world of Kim’s nuclear threat
KIM JONG-UN promised the world ‘major change’ yesterday as he agreed to ‘complete denuclearisation’ of the Korean peninsula.
After months of angry exchanges and apocalyptic sabre-rattling, the North Korean dictator and Donald Trump shook hands in Singapore after a historic meeting between the two unpredictable leaders.
A triumphant US President hailed their summit as a ‘bold step forward’ after decades of tension between the West and the totalitarian ‘hermit kingdom’.
He said Kim had affirmed an ‘unwavering commitment’ to removing nuclear weapons and he was confident he would start dismantling his arsenal ‘very quickly’.
In return, Mr Trump announced the US would stop conducting military exercises with South Korea – describing them as ‘provocative’ – and even said he would like one day to bring home the 28,000 American troops stationed there.
It emerged that the White House had forewarned China of its decision to cancel the huge annual war games but failed to warn either the Pentagon or a stunned South Korea. The agreement also committed the US to ‘provide security guarantees’ to North Korea, even though the countries are still technically at war.
However, Mr Trump said economic sanctions against the North would remain in place until the impoverished country had done more.
‘We’re prepared to start a new history, and we’re ready to write a new chapter between our two nations,’ he told a press conference after his meeting with Kim.
‘We’re very proud of what took place today.
‘I think our relationship with North Korea and the Korean Peninsula is going to be a very much different situation than it has been in the past. We both want to do something.’
He insisted the world will be ‘very impressed, very happy’ as the two old adversaries took care of a ‘very dangerous problem for the world’.
The pair signed a two-page joint statement in a televised ceremony, resolving to ‘build a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean peninsula’.
The carefully-choreographed encounter involved the leaders striding towards each other, arms extended in the red-carpeted foyer of a hotel built on the site of a British colonial outpost. As they stood in front of a wall of US and North Korean flags, Mr Trump put his hand on Kim’s shoulder before they walked off with their interpreters for initial one-on-one talks.
Kim thanked Mr Trump, the first sitting US President to have agreed to meet him.
Appearing less excited than the President, he said: ‘It was not easy to get here. The past worked as fetters on our limbs, and the old prejudices and practices worked as obstacles
on our way forward. But we overcame all of them, and we are here today. We had a historic meeting and decided to leave the past behind. The world will see a major change.’
The leaders said the two countries would hold further meetings at various levels ‘at the earliest possible date’ to flesh out their declaration. Mr Trump said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will meet a senior North Korean official next week.
Despite Mr Trump’s jubilant tone, critics dismissed the summit as a naive publicity stunt that had helped only the North Koreans.
There was mixed reaction to the summit in Washington. Republicans hailed it as a milestone while Democrats complained that Mr Trump – who said he hadn’t slept for 25 hours – had given up a lot but gained virtually nothing.
Many experts noted that their joint statement was very short on detail about what ‘denuclearisation’ meant and allowed either of the signatories to ignore it if they change their minds.
They warned that North Korean leaders had repeatedly made almost identical pledges dating back to 1993, only to renege on them. While previous US presidents had refused to meet North Korea’s dictators, fearing it would provide them with legitimacy at home, Mr Trump had done just that for Kim, critics said.
With Mr Trump claiming it was an ‘honour’ to be sitting with the tyrant, there was also widespread unease at the President’s warmth towards a ruthless and homicidal dictator who is accused of even killing close members of his own family. North Koreans who have fled the isolated country noted with dismay that yesterday’s agreement included no mention of the Kim regime’s atrocious human rights record.
North Korea has spent 50 years and much of its few resources on researching nuclear weapons and few pundits believe the country will easily give it up, if at all.
But some Korea watchers were cautiously optimistic, noting that late last year the two leaders had ramped up their aggressive rhetoric to the extent that war appeared imminent.
South Korea asked for ‘clarification’ on Mr Trump’s announcement on military co-operation amid fears that he had made concessions too quickly.
THE Mail is well aware of President Donald Trump’s awesome shortcomings.
He’s a narcissistic maverick whose remarks about women have been deeply offensive and whose Twitter outbursts undermine the dignity of his office.
But while it’s very early days, it must be conceded that his meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un is an extraordinary diplomatic achievement – especially as just a few months ago the two men were trading highly personal insults and dire threats.
True, there are many huge caveats over Kim’s commitment to ‘denuclearisation’. He has offered no timetable, no mechanism for international verification, or any guarantee that decommissioning will be permanent. But – for now at least – the world feels a slightly safer place.
The liberal establishment loves to denigrate Mr Trump, as they once did Ronald Reagan. Yet for all their contempt, Mr Reagan is now remembered as the president who won the Cold War.
We’re not holding our breath, but with the US economy booming and peace apparently breaking out on the Korean peninsula, could it be that Mr Trump will also confound his bien-pensant critics? LOSING a loved one is hard enough without then having to contact every bank and building society with which they had accounts and coping with endless paperwork. So the news that – following a three-year Money Mail campaign – grieving families will now be able to do this with a single form is hugely welcome. Will utility and insurance companies follow suit?