Kim-Trump summit to be 'huge success or complete failure,' says behavior analyst

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un grabs Chinese leader Xi Jinping's right hand with two hands ― one in the palm and the other at the wrist ― while shaking hands in this photo taken in Beijing on March 28. Such a handshake reflects Kim's personality trait of being macho, active, goal-oriented and ambitious, says behavior analyst Lim Moon-su. / Yonhap

By Park Si-soo

Lim Moon-su

All eyes are on the June 12 summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump in Singapore.

What will be on the agenda? How will the talks unfold? What will be the outcome and how will it change the world?

These are questions political pundits and analysts around the globe are tantalizingly storming their brains to find the answers.

North Korea recently added a complexity to the conundrum by threatening to call off the meeting. And the unexpected threat has spawned another set of queries: What is the North's true intention behind the threat? Is this a tactic to ramp up negotiation leverage in the lead-up to the meeting? Has Kim determined to turn everything back to square one?

As the summit day nears, the situation appears to be heading toward rough water, with questions and uncertainties, rather than clarity and predictability.

Against this blurry backdrop, Lim Moon-su, a seasoned behavior analyst, may be able to provide some answers.

Lim, who leads Seoul-based behavior analysis institute I Can Read You (ICRU), has analyzed the North Korean leader's personality traits based on his behavior, gestures and facial expressions in dozens of video clips, including ones captured during the April 27 inter-Korean summit. He also has explored Trump's personality in the same manner to estimate the depth of Kim-Trump chemistry, which could determine the fate of the June meeting.

“Actions sometimes tell more than words,” Lim said in a recent interview with The Korea Times in Seoul.

He admitted his analysis of Kim could be flawed given North Korea normally releases videos featuring its idolized leader after strict editing and censorship aimed at showing people only his good side. But Lim said it is “impossible to manipulate everything.”

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks while tapping the table with “knife” hands during the meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at Panmunjeom on April 27. This gesture reflects Kim's personality trait of being macho, active, goal-oriented and ambitious, explains behavior analyst Lim Moon-su. / Korea Times file

Lim cautiously predicted the outcome of the Kim-Trump summit, based on his view of the personality traits of the two.

“Once the two leaders sit at a negotiation table,” he said, “the result would be a huge success or complete failure. It's hard to expect a deal to be struck somewhere in the middle.”

He said Kim and Trump appear to share the same traits of an “actioner,” characterized as being macho, active, goal-oriented, ambitious, and in unfavorable situations aggressive and violent. Lim defined Trump as a “typical actioner,” while Kim also has elements of “innovator,” characterized as being creative, witty, self-determined, self-directed and risk-taking.

Lim's analysis of Kim is in sync with that of Thae Yonh-ho, a former North Korean deputy ambassador to the United Kingdom who defected to Seoul in 2016. In his recently published memoire, “Password for the secretariat on the third floor: Thae Yong-ho's testimony,” Thae described Kim as an “extremely hot-tempered, hasty and impulsive” individual.

“If the goal the two leaders are pursuing is the same, and terms and conditions are acceptable for both sides, the meeting will unfold very smoothly and quickly to make a surprisingly good outcome,” Lim said.

“Actioners don't hesitate to move forward when they find themselves in a good position.”

U.S. President Donald Trump makes an “O” with his thumb and index finger during a speech. People who make such gestures frequently tend to be macho, active, goal-oriented and ambitious, says behavior analyst Lim Moon-su.

Hand gestures of people characterized as being “actioners” tend to be big and wide. They also tend to speak or do things with their chins up and point, says behavior analyst Lim Moon-su.

Frequent thumbs up are a byproduct of “actioner” traits, says behavior analyst Lim Moon-su.

On the other hand, he said, the meeting could “break up completely” if the two leaders are stuck in a tricky dilemma in which they face a critical issue requiring a bold concession from any side.

“They are not such a person who gives up something they have desired to seize under any circumstances,” he said. “They have to seize what they want. Making a backdown is unthinkable.”

Lim's analysis indicates fruitful pre-summit negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington are crucial to make the June 12 summit a success and, above all, contending issues should be settled clearly to head off the meeting's possible derailment.

He said South Korean President Moon Jae-in's role as a “mediator” is important, adding he has personality traits fit for that job.

“Kim and Trump share the traits of an all-or-nothing personality,” he said. “If the two happen to be left on a collision course alone, without a mediator, it's very likely that they would collide head-on and screw up everything.

“That's why I'm saying Moon's role is as important as Trump and Kim's.”