What happened Trump’s Korean gambit
In a startling policy reversal, Donald Trump announced last week that he had accepted an invitation to a summit meeting with Kim Jong Un – the first between a US president and a North Korean leader. After months of trading insults with Kim, the president said he was now ready to start face-to-face negotiations by the end of May. The invitation from Kim, delivered by South Korean officials, suggested that Pyongyang may be willing to scrap its nuclear weapons programme and suspend its missile tests. But the White House almost immediately confused the position when it restated America’s previous refusal to begin talks until Pyongyang took “concrete actions” towards denuclearisation. Trump himself cast doubts on the process at a Republican rally. “Who knows what’s going to happen?” he asked. “I may leave fast or we may sit down and make the greatest deal for the world.”
What the editorials said
This is “very welcome” news, said the FT. The escalating war of words between two volatile leaders was in real danger of tipping over into armed, possibly nuclear, conflict. The chances of a lasting pact may be slim – North Korea is notorious for breaching agreements – but it is “good to see diplomacy being given a chance”. Given Trump’s unpredictability and Kim’s record of deceit, a “dose of scepticism” about what talks might achieve is in order, said The Times. Then again, Kim’s change of heart could be “born of isolation and weakness”: the sanctions imposed on his regime are hurting and he is worried about discontent in the army, on whose support he depends. It’s fanciful to believe Kim will give up his nuclear arsenal, said the Guardian. To him, denuclearisation simply means the removal of US weapons from the region. But he has much to gain by meeting Trump on equal terms: it will hugely boost his prestige at home. That’s why “more experienced people” in the White House are rowing back. The danger, though, is that by reining in Trump they may scupper any chance of dialogue.