Donald Trump, the US president, has praised Kim Jong-un for being “very open and terrific” and said he expects to hold a second summit with the North Korean leader “in the not too distant future.”
“I think we have done very well with regards to North Korea,” he told the press as he met with Moon Jae-in, the South Korean president, on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Monday.
…….
Mr Trump’s mention of a second summit confirmed that Kim’s concessions, although minor, were enough to overcome a recent stalemate between Washington and Pyongyang over the progress of denuclearisation.
…….
Speaking at the UN headquarters in New York, Mr Trump said that Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state would arrange the next summit “in the immediate future”.
“Make no mistake, the conversations that we’re having now are important. They’re putting the opportunity to complete the denuclearisation in place,” Mr Pompeo told reporters.
But analysts have pointed out that little concrete change has occurred so far beyond North Korea suspending its missile testing, and that a second summit will increase pressure on the US president to pin Kim down on specifics.
Pyongyang has not yet met US demands to provide an inventory of its nuclear arsenal or allowed weapons inspectors into the country. There have been indications that North Korea is still making fissile material for nuclear bombs.
In her first public comments since taking over the reins as CIA chief, Gina Haspel indicated that it would be a tough task to persuade the North Koreans to give up their nuclear weapons.
“They have stated that they believe it is essential to their regime’s survival, so I believe that the North Koreans view their capability as leverage and I don’t think that they want to give it up easily.”
…….
- Discussion
-
Is the dictator of North Korea — a gulag state, a totalitarian state, a murderous state — “very open and terrific”? The Republican party and conservative movement I knew would have been repulsed by statements such as this. https://t.co/BnKobncwFz
— Jay Nordlinger (@jaynordlinger) September 25, 2018
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.