Following an impromptu meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un this weekend, the White House has confirmed that negotiations between the two nations over North Korea’s nuclear program will resume.
Trump was slated to meet with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and visit the infamous demilitarized zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea on Sunday, but pundits have speculated since the trip was announced in May that Trump would try to meet with Kim during his visit. Indeed, Trump tweeted from the G-20 summit in Japan on Friday that he hoped he’d get the chance on Sunday to shake Kim’s hand and say hello.
After some very important meetings, including my meeting with President Xi of China, I will be leaving Japan for South Korea (with President Moon). While there, if Chairman Kim of North Korea sees this, I would meet him at the Border/DMZ just to shake his hand and say Hello(?)!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 28, 2019
Making history
Soon after posting his tweet, Trump told the press that Kim was open to a meeting, but said they were still “trying to work it out.”
“We’ll see. [Kim] very much wants to,” Trump said. “It will be very short, but that’s OK. A handshake means a lot.”
But the meeting didn’t end up being as short as Trump planned. The two leaders spent more than an hour together and even made history while they were at it.
In what MarketWatch called a “made-for-television moment,” Trump and Kim “strode toward one another from opposite sides of the Joint Security Area [in the DMZ] and shook hands over the raised patch of concrete at the Military Demarcation Line as cameras clicked and photographers jostled to capture the scene.”
Trump then “took 10 steps into the North with Kim at his side, then escorted Kim back to the South for talks at Freedom House, where they agreed to revive the stalled negotiations,” according to MarketWatch.
Getting it right
The DMZ visit happened at 2:30 p.m. local time. It was the first time Trump and Kim have met since February, when a summit between the two leaders in Hanoi, Vietnam was cut short and no agreement was made.
Trump had refused to grant North Korean demands to end sanctions before the isolated nation would give up their nuclear arsenal.
But the U.S. president said Sunday’s meeting was a step in the right direction.
“We’re not looking for speed. We’re looking to get it right,” Trump said after his talk with Kim. “We’re on a very good path. This was a terrific day.”
Leaving South Korea after a wonderful meeting with Chairman Kim Jong Un. Stood on the soil of North Korea, an important statement for all, and a great honor!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 30, 2019
Looking forward
Experts are skeptical that either Trump or Kim has changed his position since talks broke down in February, but according to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, opening up a dialogue will at least make a path forward for the two nations more clear.
“Even in Hanoi, we made progress,” Pompeo said. “And so we think we do have a jumping-off point for these discussions, which will put us in a place where we can truly evaluate if there is any clear path forward.”
New talks are expected to begin mid-July. Stephen Biegun, the U.S. special representative for North Korea, will represent the U.S. in the talks. It is unclear who the representative from North Korea will be.
Both sides have a lot resting on the negotiations, with Pyongyang pushing for “relief from crushing international sanctions,” a request Trump said he won’t grant without North Korea’s “complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization,” MarketWatch reports.
But while an agreement may seem out of reach for now, Trump has shown that he’s a master negotiator. If anyone can bridge the gap between Washington and Pyongyang, it’s the master of the deal himself.
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