ED Trump courts Kim

U.S. President Donald Trump boards Air Force One at Haneda Airport in Tokyo for his departure to South Korea, Wednesday. AP-Yonhap

Here in South Korea, people are paying close attention to every word U.S. President Donald Trump says about North Korea and its leader, Kim Jong-un. Many are wary, as Trump has floated unprecedented — if not unthinkable — options to persuade Kim to meet with him during his Asia tour.

Trump mentioned the possibility of sanctions relief as a discussion point, should a meeting with Kim take place. “We have sanctions. That’s pretty big to start with,” Trump told reporters.

Before departing the U.S. for Malaysia, the first stop on his Asia tour to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit, Trump referred to North Korea as “sort of a nuclear power.”

“I think they are sort of a nuclear power. I mean, I know how many weapons they have. I know everything about them…” he said.

It seems clear that neither Trump nor his administration intended to recognize North Korea as a legitimate nuclear power.

Nevertheless, his high-handed negotiating style has made many South Koreans uneasy. Preventing North Korea from being accepted as a nuclear state and maintaining sanctions are among the few remaining tools available to hold Pyongyang accountable.

This sense of concern was reflected in an editorial headline from the conservative newspaper Chosun Ilbo on Wednesday: “South Korea’s Security Poised to Become a Scapegoat of Trump’s Bid to Win Nobel Peace Prize.”

While such concerns are understandable, they may also be somewhat overstated. Trump’s remarks on North Korea appear to be part of a calculated effort to draw Kim to the negotiating table during his Asia tour, rather than a signal of readiness to make concessions.

Since taking office in January, Trump has repeatedly expressed his willingness to meet Kim, often recalling their previous three summits and the personal letters sent by Kim during his first term.

Months later, Kim responded that he was open to another meeting — but only without preconditions. “I do have fond memories of U.S. President Donald Trump,” Kim said during a speech at the Supreme People’s Committee meeting on Sept. 22. “I have no reason to reject his offer to meet if the U.S. abandons its obsession with the denuclearization of North Korea and instead acknowledges reality and seeks peaceful coexistence with us.”

Kim made it clear, however, that North Korea would not give up its nuclear weapons under any circumstances.

So far, Kim has not given a clear “yes” or “no” response to Trump’s repeated calls for a meeting during his ongoing Asia tour, which is scheduled to conclude on Thursday.

Their exchange of mutual flattery has yet to produce a diplomatic breakthrough — perhaps because both leaders know each other too well and can easily read what the other has in mind.

Trump has often used praise as a tool to court adversarial leaders, earning a reputation for being unusually friendly with autocrats. Kim, for his part, appears to understand Trump’s business-style approach to diplomacy better than most. While reaffirming that North Korea will never abandon its nuclear weapons, Kim said he knows exactly what would happen if his country complied with denuclearization demands.

“They (the U.S.) will force us to give up our nuclear bombs and then disarm ourselves. What they are going to do next is too obvious,” he said.

Despite exchanging kind words and recalling fond memories, deep-seated distrust continues to define the relationship between Washington and Pyongyang and serve as a major obstacle to any meaningful diplomatic progress.

Earlier, Trump reaffirmed that denuclearization remains the U.S. government’s top priority. In August, he expressed his desire to open denuclearization talks with Russia and China. “One of the things we’re trying to do with Russia and with China is denuclearization, and it’s very important,” he told reporters before meeting South Korean President Lee Jae Myung at the White House. “We can’t let nuclear weapons proliferate. We have to stop nuclear weapons,” he added.

Recognizing North Korea as a nuclear power must not be an option. Doing so would expose a non-nuclear South Korea to even greater security risks and fuel an arms race across the region.

Similarly, easing or lifting sanctions on North Korea should not be considered. The country has a long history of violating agreements and failing to keep its promises.