News Analysis |
As per White House Spokesperson Sara Sanders, Kim Jong-un has sent a “very warm, very positive” letter requesting for another meeting with the U.S president Donald Trump. “The primary purpose of the letter was to request and look to schedule another meeting with the president which we are open to and are already in the process of coordinating that,” she said. Sanders told reporters the letter exhibited “a continued commitment to focus on denuclearization of the Peninsula.”
South Korea has been actively pursuing a tripartite course of dialogue with the inclusion of the United States to work out the stepwise plan for the long process of denuclearization. President Moon Jae-li of South Korea is about to meet Kim Jong Un for the third summit to discuss the formal peace declaration to end the Korean War which is, technically, still in place because the ceasefire was brought by means of an armistice.
It was the reason why President Donald Trump ordered his Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to cancel his official visit to Pyongyang because no progress was being made from the North Korean site.
To work out the gradual plan of denuclearization, both South Korean and the U.S officials are having a meeting in Washington these days. Lee Do-hoon, South Korea’s nuclear negotiator, told reporters that he and his U.S. counterpart Stephen Biegun discussed how to bring progress on the North’s denuclearization and establishing peace on the Korean peninsula. “We take this very seriously, the responsibility that is on both of us,” Biegun told Lee at the start of the talks.
Both leaders met in June this year, a breakthrough in itself, and sign a vague declaration about aspiration of denuclearizing the Korean peninsula. However, the post-summit arrangements have not been quite encouraging which could bring optimism for the world in general that the plausible nuclear standoff is to be averted soon, forever. Other than the dispatch of remains of U.S soldiers who fought in the Korean War, the only substantial breakthrough after the recent diplomatic surge of the rouge North Korean State has been the family reunion on both sides of the Koreas.
Read more: Symbolic Trump-Kim summit: a step in the right direction?
North Korea, as per the satellite imagery, has not halted the operation on its ballistic missile sites. Despite the fact that there have not been any missile or nuclear tests, which came regularly just a year back, the active missile site depicts that the North has no plan of bringing the operation to a halt. It was the reason why President Donald Trump ordered his Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to cancel his official visit to Pyongyang because no progress was being made from the North Korean site.
People in Washington are looking at arbitrary and superficial gestures to be the sign of progress. For instance, during a recent media briefing, White House Spokesperson Sara Sanders appreciated North Korea for not showing long-range missiles during a military parade in Pyongyang. Apparently, Washington is short of the contingency plan in case the negotiations would not work as they are looking at bleak signs to pin their hopes on.
The process of denuclearization is going to take several years especially because of the lack of trust for each other from both the sides.
It is imperative to mention that even after the recent warmth in the relations between both DPRK and the United States, the economic sanctions are still intact for the former. Kim’s intentions to submit the hard-earned nuclear status was already under suspicion but the recent developments are certainly strengthening this notion. Notwithstanding a struggling economy, Kim is not showing any signs which could result in the lifting off of crunching economic sanctions.
The first summit came under severe criticism for not pointing at a roadmap for the ultimate goal of denuclearization. But given the very image of a U.S and North Korean head of state sitting together was so rare, it was, in itself, a feat even if the result was an ambiguous agreement signed at the end. The process of denuclearization is going to take several years especially because of the lack of trust for each other from both the sides.
Read more: U.S. detects failed North Korean missile test: Pentagon
But if another summit commences, even after the active pursuance of war technology on part of North Korea, the world will be anticipating something concrete toward the ultimate goal. It should not just be a hyped event, feeding the needs of media all over the world with all smiles and nothing extensive.