US, China to work on N. Korea
By Tong Kim
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This column begins with a positive note about President Trump’s first meeting last week with Chinese President Xi Jinping at Mar-a-Lago, Florida. The summit was overshadowed by the U.S. strike on Syria in retribution against its use of chemical weapons. The attack was carried out Thursday night after Trump hosted a dinner for Xi and his delegation.
However, the two-day meeting between the two big powers with the most powerful influence on the Korean Peninsula ended with an agreement to build a good working relationship to work together on North Korea, as well as on other vital issues of mutual interest. No specific details of the talks on the Korean issue were made available.
“We have made tremendous progress in our relationship with China,” Trump said after the morning’s meeting. “We will be making additional progress. The relationship developed by President Xi and myself I think is outstanding… And I believe lots of very potentially bad problems will be going away.”
Xi also spoke positive words. “We have engaged in deeper understanding, and have built a trust ― a preliminary working relationship and friendship ...we will keep developing in a stable way to form friendly relations …For the peace and stability of the world, we will also fulfill our historical responsibility.”
Trump reciprocated, “I agree 100 percent.”
It does not appear that Trump and Xi reached any breakthrough on the Korean issue. We will soon hear more about the discussions of the two leaders over the two most pressing issues: the North Korean nuclear and missile programs, which continue to advance to an ICBM capability to strike the continental U.S. and the U.S. trade deficit of $350 billion from China, which Trump wants to rectify to help the American worker.
There are many other important differences between China and the U.S. They include the South China Sea, THAAD deployment to South Korea, territorial disputes, freedom of navigation, regional stability, fighting ISIS and the Syrian issue, creation of a new global economic order for free fair trade, and issues of human rights and democracy in China.
The American attack on Syria must have had an impact on the Chinese. After Trump ordered the attack, he informed Xi Jinping of his decision during the dinner that night, although there was no consultation with Moscow. However, the Russians in Syria were informed of the U.S. plan of attack through a deconfliction agreement designed to avoid accidental clashes or unintended casualties.
Trump’s attack on Syria, as it was an about-face from his long-held position on Syria, even at the risk of straining relations with Russia, could connote to the seriousness of the U.S. military option on North Korea. Trump said recently, “If China is not going to solve North Korea, we will.” It was interpreted as the U.S. resolve to go alone on North Korea if China does not help, and as the U.S. willingness to impose a secondary sanction against Chinese banks helping the North Korean weapons program.
However, despite increasing talk in the media of a possible preemptive strike against the North as a solution to the nuclear issue, it seems there is a solid consensus in the Washington establishment as well as in the Trump White House that such an attack would be too risky of North Korean retaliation. The North has a nuclear weapon and enough conventional firepower to destroy South Korea’s capital city of Seoul and its neighboring areas with 25 million people within hours. Yet, this does not diminish the usefulness of the preventive threat of a military strike.
The Trump presidency is going through multiple foreign policy issues, while divergent moving parts and tools are still being assembled and policy directions are still evolving. Some are concerned about Trump’s inconsistency or unpredictability in rhetoric and action. However, so far Trump has been helpful to the efforts to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue. First, by making it a top priority, and second, by seriously considering all options, including pressuring China.
Watching the Sino-American summit this time, many Koreans were concerned if their fate would be determined by big powers as it was by Yalta. It was not. South Korea will have more voice when they elect a new president next month. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence’s planned visit to Korea is also good news. What’s your take?
Tong Kim is a Washington correspondent and columnist for The Korea Times. He is also a fellow at the Institute of Korean-American Studies. He can be contacted at tong.kim8@yahoo.com.