News Analysis |
Much anticipated meet up of U.S President Donald Trump with his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong Un has resulted in anticlimax as no consensus could be reached. Both leaders met in Hanoi, capital of Vietnam, their second summit together, to discuss the ‘denuclearization’ which was agreed upon in Singapore last year. But as it turned out, the two-day summit came to its climax with no real agreement or deal being signed, which some believe, is still better than a ‘bad deal’.
“Basically, they wanted the sanctions lifted in their entirety, and we couldn’t do that,” Trump told reporters at the JW Marriott Hotel in Hanoi. “They were willing to denuke a large portion of the areas that we wanted, but we couldn’t give up all of the sanctions for that. … We had to walk away from that.”
Writing on the Wall
The culmination of the summit at such note has not come as surprise for those who have been keeping an eye on the affairs of both countries since the Singapore summit of June last year. Kim Jong Un went back and made quite of a show of demolition of a nuclear site which was not in use anyway.
Other than signing the trade deals with Vietnamese President worth $20 billion, U.S President Donald Trump talked about the country which was once the focus of U.S policy discourse for years in his tweet.
U.S reports, endorsed with images from satellites, have been claiming of activity at active missile development sites. It all eventually underscores the prevalent apprehension that North Korea would just not abandon what it has acquired over all these years under crushing economic sanctions and what it deems essential for North Korean status quo.
Though North Korea is the culprit for backtracking from its global obligations under NPT [Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Treaty] and repeatedly undergoing the nuclear tests, the United States is equally responsible for the failure of the Hanoi summit.
Under the agreement last year, North Korea did make some progress in building the trust, which included sending back the remains of U.S soldiers who fought in the Koran war, demolition of the nuclear site and dismantling a missile launch tower.
Read more: U.S-North Korea letter diplomacy amidst stalled denuclearization of Korean Peninsula
Contrary to that, nothing substantial was offered from the U.S side which makes the intentions of working out an end of Korean conflict skeptical on the United States’ end. The theory that the United States is not serious to leave Korean peninsula, after the Korean war if formally over, to keep a check and exercise its stake in the matters pertaining to the states in the Asia Pacific, especially China, seems plausible here.
Walking into a summit without gradually working out the trust-building measures was not going to result in any breakthrough. But the fact that commitments have been made in continuing the efforts to work out a solution, suggests that both sides are still working out to find a ‘win-win’ situation.
Trump Mentions Vietnam
Other than signing the trade deals with Vietnamese President worth $20 billion, U.S President Donald Trump talked about the country which was once the focus of U.S policy discourse for years in his tweet. “Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly if it would denuclearize.
Kim has said that he wants to improve the economic condition of his country, but for that to happen, it is important that sanctions are lifted off.
The potential is AWESOME, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong Un. We will know fairly soon – Very Interesting!”, he said in his tweet. The place for second meeting between both the leaders was interpreted as a message to Kim Jong Un about the prospects of working with the United States rather against it.
Kim has said that he wants to improve the economic condition of his country, but for that to happen, it is important that sanctions are lifted off. Hanoi was meant to show him the post denuclearization North Korea but Kim fears that the cost for that could well be the end of his rule over the country.
Read more: Trump and Kim to convene for the second time, hoping for…
As per Trump’s own words, Kim is ready to denuclearize a large portion of the area which the United States wants against lifting the sanctions which practically makes the United States the center of whatever happens in future regarding Korean peninsula.