ED After Hanoi summit
US, NK should seek further dialogue
The breakdown of talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Hanoi, Vietnam, last week stunned the world.
The second U.S.-North Korea summit was supposed to build on the first in Singapore in June 2018, where the two leaders produced only a vague agreement to work toward North Korea's denuclearization. But instead of producing a more specific agreement, the two leaders only reaffirmed the huge differences in their positions.
Since the two leaders' departure from Hanoi, many were left wondering whether there will be another summit because it ended without any agreement followed by a rare cancellation of a planned lunch and signing ceremony. For many Koreans, the collapse of the Hanoi summit was particularly heartbreaking because they had hoped that a successful one would create the conditions for the North Korean leader to visit Seoul soon.
While more people are increasingly skeptical of the usefulness of summits in achieving North Korea's denuclearization, there are some reasons to hope for better results in the future. One is that the two leaders did not seem to part ways in a hostile way. The White House disclosed a photo of Kim and Trump shaking hands before they said good-bye, and surprisingly Kim had a big smile.
There was also no bashing of the U.S. in the North Korean media or from the North Korean officials who took part in the negotiations. Trump also sounded his upbeat self after arriving home. One of his Twitter posts underlined “substantive negotiations” with Kim and the good relationship he had with the North Korean leader.
Despite the continued rapport between the two leaders, the outlook for future U.S.-North Korea talks is not very promising because the two sides are saying completely different things. After the talks with Kim fell apart, Feb. 28, Trump gave a press conference at the JW Marriott Hotel with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to explain what happened. “Basically, they wanted the sanctions lifted in their entirety, and we couldn't do that,” Trump said.
After Trump left, the North Korean side held a rare press conference where Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho denied Trump's claim that the North had demanded the lifting of the sanctions “entirely.”
Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui said the U.S. had missed an “opportunity that comes in a thousand years” by refusing the North's proposals. She said that it was hard for the North to accept the U.S. position and that the North had only mentioned the lifting of sanctions that had to do with the livelihood of the North Korean people. She even said she had the feeling that the North Korean leader may lose motivation for further talks with the U.S.
Despite the setback in Hanoi, it is crucial to keep the negotiations going. Otherwise, Kim may follow up on his pledge to seek a “new path”that he mentioned in his New Year speech, in which he warned the U.S. not to misjudge his patience. All parties concerned, including South Korea, should continue to work closely with each other for progress in the denuclearization talks.