North Korea still a nuclear threat
Move over, P.T. Barnum. He led the field for a long time, but no longer. After Singapore, the title of “World’s Greatest Showman” now belongs to Donald J. Trump.
There’s never been a more carefully orchestrated world summit. No Hollywood producer could have staged it better. They came together, shook hands, smiled for the cameras, had lunch, took a stroll, inspected the presidential limousine, watched a video, patted each other on the back, shook hands again and left. Every movement was camera-perfect.
You have to admit, the Singapore summit was a giant propaganda coup for Donald Trump and, especially, Kim Jong Un, who was suddenly catapulted from America’s public enemy number one to America’s new best boyfriend. Last November, in Donald Trump’s words, the North Korean leader, was “Little Rocket Man,” a “maniac,” and “a madman who doesn’t mind starving or killing his people.” But this week, he’s “very, very smart,” “very talented” and “funny.” “He loves his people,” and “his country does love him.” Which proves you really don’t have to do much to impress Donald Trump, you just need to show up.
But, now that the breathless glow of the moment has passed, it’s fair to ask: What should we think of the Singapore summit? What really happened? Answer: Not much.
OK, to be fair: It’s good that they met. Diplomacy works. Better to have Trump and Kim Jong Un meet in person to talk peace than toss insults back and forth on Twitter. And it’s comforting that North Korea and the United States have agreed to continue negotiations toward the ultimate goal of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, even though they do not yet agree on what the word “denuclearization” means.
But, to be realistic: In the real world, Singapore changed nothing. North Korea has just as many nuclear weapons today as it had last week. They have made no commitment to destroy any or all of them. No commitment not to build even more nukes. No commitment not to test them. No commitment to let international inspectors in. No commitment to shut down their missiles aimed at South Korea.
Absent any agreement on concrete steps and timetable to reach “complete, verifiable and irreversible” denuclearization, the summit concluded with the blandest of statements: “President Trump committed to provide security guarantees to the DPRK, and Chairman Kim Jong Un reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.”
Many experts noted the curious choice of the verb “reaffirmed” as applied to Kim Jong Un. When did he ever demonstrate the commitment to getting rid of nukes he’s now magnanimously “reaffirming”? And, if he really were committed to denuclearization, why’d he build so many nukes in the first place?
After all, there is good reason to be skeptical: We’ve been here before. In October 1994, under Kim’s grandfather, Kim Il-sung, North Korea signed an agreement with the United States to freeze its nuclear program. They broke the deal. In September 2005, under Kim’s father, Kim Jong-Il, North Korea signed an agreement with the United States and four other nations to abandon its production of nuclear weapons. Again, they broke the deal. What guarantee do we have that this third time around North Korea’s promise will turn out any differently? None. Except Donald Trump’s assurance that, in Singapore, he and Chairman Kim formed a “special bond.”
Kim Jong Un, meanwhile, remains a mass murderer who ordered the execution of his uncle and half-brother and presides over one of the cruelest regimes on earth — where an estimated 125,000 political dissidents are locked up in slave labor camps and, according to the UN, where 41 percent of the population suffer from malnutrition. Money to feed them went into building nuclear weapons, instead.
At best, the Singapore summit represents the start of a process that could, but won’t necessarily, lead to peace with North Korea. Everybody understands that except Donald Trump, who immediately tweeted: “There is no longer a nuclear threat from North Korea.” What’s behind that boast? Nothing but one handshake. As Joe Cirincione, president of the Ploughshares Fund, told me: “Donald Trump is permanently booked at the Grand Delusion Hotel.” It’ll take more than one handshake to get rid of the most serious nuclear threat facing the planet.
Soon, the tough, post-summit negotiations will begin. They may succeed, they may not. We can only hope they do. It’ll take years before we know. For now, all we have is one giant photo op.