President Trump on May 10 announced the date and location of his previously announced meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un (shown on right) in a tweet:
The highly anticipated meeting between Kim Jong Un and myself will take place in Singapore on June 12th. We will both try to make it a very special moment for World Peace!
What many considered to be a major hurdle to holding the summit was accomplished this week when North Korea released three American prisoners who had been jailed on what appeared to be false charges of espionage and other crimes against the communist state.
In welcoming the three back to the United States during a ceremony early Thursday morning, Trump said Kim “really was excellent to these three incredible people.”
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The prisoners were released after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Kim. After 90 minutes of face-to-face conversation between the two, Kim ordered their release. During that meeting, Pompeo also worked out the details of the summit between Kim and Trump.
While no formal agenda for the Kim-Trump meeting has been announced, Trump’s first priority will undoubtedly be to get the North Korean to agree to dismantle his country’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.
As we reported on May 3, Kim Jong-un told South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in during their meeting on April 27 that he would abandon his nuclear weapons program if the United States agrees to formally end the Korean War and promises not to invade his country.
Two days after that announcement, on Fox News Sunday, National Security Adviser John Bolton was asked about what level of elimination of North Korea’s nuclear facilities the Trump administration would demand before the United States begins to relieve its economic sanctions against North Korea. Bolton confirmed host Chris Wallace’s summary that Trump will “insist that Kim give up, ship out, all of his nuclear weapons, all of his nuclear fuel, all of his ballistic missiles before the U.S. makes any concessions.”
Kim told Moon during their summit that there would be no need for him to maintain a nuclear arsenal if the two Koreas formally ended the Korean War and signed a nonaggression pact. However, given Kim’s past reputation as a hardliner, it is difficult to envision the North Korean agreeing to complete nuclear disarmament if the United States does not concede something in return, such as removing its own nuclear-armed planes and ships from the area. Trump will have a difficult time reaching an agreement.
Photo of Kim Jong-un: Republic of Korea
Related articles:
Will Kim and Trump Finally End the Korean War?
North Korea Not Interested in Diplomacy Until It Has ICBM Capable of Reaching U.S. East Coast
Trump Imposes More Sanctions on North Korea, Calls Kim “Madman”
