With Major Concession To Kim, Trump Gets ‘Denuclearization’ — Minus Details

With Major Concession To Kim, Trump Gets ‘Denuclearization’ — Minus Details

Emerging from their summit in Singapore, President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un proclaimed that they had reached an historic deal to denuclearize the Korean peninsula. But while the details of the nuclear agreement would be left to future talks, Trump immediately agreed to end military exercises with South Korea.

“We’re ready to write a new chapter between our nations,” Trump said after their meeting, and added that he had already developed “a very special relationship” with the young dictator from the Hermit Kingdom. He vowed that the removal and destruction of the north’s nuclear arsenal would proceed “as fast as it can mechanically and physically be done,” with complete guarantees of verification. Although he sounded a boastful note about his negotiating prowess, it was not clear what Kim had promised to do or how the United States would be able to ensure that any promises are actually fulfilled.

Indeed, the only firm shift in policy that resulted from the meeting was the abrupt end of joint military exercises that have long irritated Pyongyang — without any notice to either US military leaders in the region or to the U.S. ally in South Korea. Analysts worried that Trump had surrendered the most critical means of leverage to ensure that North Korea actually gives up its nuclear weapons, on the basis of a smile and a vague promise.

Trump held aloft the agreement that the two leaders signed in a gesture of triumph, but its text was not immediately released to the press.

 

 

 

Advertising

Start your day with National Memo Newsletter

Know first.

The opinions that matter. Delivered to your inbox every morning

North Carolina GOP's Extremist Nominees Excite Democratic Strategists

Michele Morrow

In 2020, Joe Biden narrowly missed capturing North Carolina’s 16 electoral votes, losing the state by a slim 1.4-percentage-point margin. But that was nearly four years ago. Before the Dobbs decision. Before Donald Trump’s 91 felony indictments. And before last week, when the state’s GOP voters nominated a guy who favorably quotes Hitler, has compared LGBTQ+ people to insects and larvae, and thinks a six-week abortion ban isn’t quite extreme enough for governor. Tar Heel State Republicans also nominated another extremist, Michele Morrow, for superintendent of the state’s schools.

Keep reading...Show less
{{ post.roar_specific_data.api_data.analytics }}