“Great Progress” In Talks with North Korea – Trump

“Great progress” is being made over the talks between the US and North Korea, according to US President Donald Trump, who recently agreed on meeting Kim Jong-un in an unprecedented summit.

Trump said that "great progress" is being made.

“King Jong-un talked about denuclearization with the South Korean Representatives, not just a freeze,” Trump tweeted late Thursday in Washington. “Also, no missile testing by North Korea during this period of time. Great  progress being made but sanction will remain until an agreement is reached. Meeting being planned!”

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a White House spokeswoman, said that the meeting would take place at  “a place and time to be determined.”

The announcement was first made by Chung Eui-yong, South Korean National Security Council chief. Chung also told reporters in the US that Kim “expressed is eagerness to meet President Trump as soon as possible” and that the US president “said he would meet Kim Jong-un by May to achieve permanent denuclearization.”

The news fueled gains in Asian equity markets on Friday. It caused the yen, which is a safe-haven in periods of geopolitical conflicts, to slide to its largest decline in more than two weeks against the dollar.

South Korea’s Kospi Index of shares increased 1.6 percent. Meanwhile, the broader MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.7 percent. The yen tumbled down 0.6 percent to 106.90.

Chung also stated that Kim is committed to squashing his nuclear weapons and would refrain from any nuclear or missiles tests, adding that the North Korean leader understands that routine US-South Korean joint military exercises must continue. The pressure campaign will continue “until North Korea matches its words with concrete actions.”

US Vice President Mike Pence, who set the US tone as the top official at the Winter Olympic Games in South Korea and sat in on the South Korean envoy’s meeting with Trump, supported Trump’s decision to meet with Kim, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The source said that the US made no exemptions in order to make the meeting with Kim, and Washington is not going to back off on imposing sanctions or maximum pressure.

A White House official pointed out that the previous administrations had entered into discussions with the regime at lower levels. This official also stated that Trump made his reputation as a deal-maker, and only Kim is capable of making negotiating decisions under North Korea’s authoritarian system.

Shinzo Abe, Japanese Prime Minister, also expressed approval of Trump’s planned meeting with Kim. Abe said he planned to visit the US in April.

US National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster is set to brief the United Nations Security Council on the latest developments on March 12, according to a European source who requested anonymity because of the confidentiality of the announcement.

Among analysts, initial reactions were mixed. Some stated that Trump risks legitimizing the regime. Others expressed excitement for the potential breakthrough.

“Now the hard work begins,” said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the US-based Arms Control Association. “Though President Trump deserves credit for being so bold as to agree to a summit meeting with North Korea by May, this is a process that will, if it’s successful, be  a long one that takes patience and persistence.”

On Twitter, Jeffrey Lewis said that a summit with an American president has been a top North Korean foreign policy goal for more than 20 years. Lewis is the director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, California.

Treating Kim as Equal

“We need to talk to North Korea,” Lewis wrote. “But Kim is not inviting Trump so that he can surrender North Korea’s weapons. Kim is inviting Trump to demonstrate that his investment in nuclear and missile capabilities has forced the United States to treat him as an equal.”

The announcement was released following a South Korean’s briefing of the Trump administration officials about the recent discussions with North Korea. In those meetings, North Korean officials suggested that they would consider stopping their nuclear weapons program if Washington can ensure the safety of Kim’s regime, which is a long-standing goal.

Rex Tillerson, US Secretary of State, had tamped down hopes for a breakthrough with North Korea.

“We’re a long way from negotiations, we just need to be very clear-eyed and realistic about it,” Tillerson said.

Moon Jae-in, South Korean president, also made similar statements, saying, “This is just a start, and we can’t be optimistic just yet.”

The US and North Korea have been ill at ease since the Korean War ended without a peace treaty almost 65 years ago. Kim’s regime has repeatedly said that nuclear weapons were necessary to squash any US-led military action. Meetings and agreements have failed numerous times, with each party accusing the other of failing to go by the agreements.

Trump and the North Korean leader has increasingly exchanged barbs after Trump rose to power in January last year. Trump has pledged to bring “fire and fury” down on North Korea if provoked. Kim has lambasted the US president as a “dotard” as he ramped up his missile and nuclear tests.

Tension eventually eased up after South Korea agreed to let North Korean athletes participate in the Winter Olympics last month. This took place after Kim declared that he had the capability to strike the US homeland with a nuclear weapon.

The US military said last January that North Korea has not demonstrated such capabilities for a missile, as well as show that the weapon can survive atmosphere reentrance and hit a target accurately.

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