There may be some grand bargain, but it’s unlikely the North will give up nuclear weapons

THIS meeting is unprecedented, in the context of the ongoing nuclear tensions between the two sides. It seems as though the North Koreans have invited President Donal Trump, and he has accepted. What it would take for the North Koreans to give up their nuclear weapons is the complete removal of American troops from the Korean peninsula, and the reunification of the peninsula – although under whose leadership is the big question.

But this summit will be a big propaganda coup for them. They want legitimacy and to be recognised on the world stage, and President Trump looks as though he will give it to them. Ultimately, I think it’s unlikely that North Korea will give up its nuclear weapons. It’s possible that there’s some sort of grand bargain which comes out of this, but we are in uncharted waters.

Whilst the talks promise much to resolve these tensions, they are also fraught with risks, especially as the US appears to be treating North Korea as a diplomatic equal for the first time. It also validates their pursuit of a nuclear programme, which may be an inspiration for other would-be nuclear countries.

Mr Trump’s move further means that success or failure on this issue will entirely rest with him, and given his track record of unpredictable, rash and untempered behaviour has the potential to seriously worsen the situation and escalate this issue to a much more dangerous level.

It’s intriguing that he’s said yes to this. Recently, a lot of the people closest to the Trump administration have left so he’s a bit of a wild card at the moment.

Here, he’s got the chance to be on the world stage and solve one of the world’s main problems. But it’s all going to be on him and it’s going to be his failure if things go wrong.

It’s entirely possible that the meeting could take place in Pyongyang, although the Chinese might host talks in Beijing so they can appear to be the brokers of any deal.

And of course, this could just be posturing from President Trump and he could change his mind next week. He changes his mind all the time. But at the moment it definitely seems like it’s going to go ahead.”

Dr Chris Ogden is a senior lecturer in Asian Security, School of International Relations, University of St Andrews.