Author: Daniel DePetris | Fox News / Source: Fox News
The collapse of the summit between President Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un without an agreement moving the North closer to denuclearization undoubtedly is a big disappointment for the U.S. president.
Trump – who has long claimed to be a master negotiator – has invested a considerable amount of personal capital, time and prestige in his effort to reacha denuclearization dealwith Kim.
The American president has traveled to the other side of the world twice – to Singapore in June and to Vietnam this week – to meet with the North Korean leader.Ever self-confident about his own abilities, Trump very likely believed he could fly back home with some kind of signed document – whether it be a binding agreement, a detailed roadmap, or a statement of principles – showing significant progress in getting North Korea to take steps to get rid of its nuclear weapons and the ability to make more.
The fact that no agreement was reached in the Hanoi talks – which ended abruptly and earlier than scheduled – will provide more ammunition for President Trump’s critics.
These critics contend Trump acted recklessly, impulsively and naively by reaching out to Kim with the unrealistic goal of getting the dictator to abandon weapons that his country has spent many years and enormous sums of money developing.
This view, however, is mistaken. Nobody said talking with the North Koreans would be smooth and painless. Indeed, it would be more surprising if there weren’t any obstacles or breakdowns along the road.
Importantly, President Trump proved his critics wrong when he walked out of the summit rather than giving in to Kim’s unreasonable demand that the U.S. lift all economic sanctions on the North without first getting Kim to make a meaningful commitment to denuclearization.
“Sometimes you have to walk,” President Trump said at a news conference in Hanoi on Thursday, shortly before he left the Vietnamese capital emptyhanded for the long flight back to Washington.
Concerned that the North Koreans were asking for too much in sanctions relief, Trump wisely decided it would be best to cut the negotiations short and reassess for a later day.
U.S. national security interests are ill-served by unnecessarily tying a new peace and security regime to the aspirational goal of denuclearization – a goal that will take perhaps 15 to 20 years to achieve if it can be achieved at all.
North Korean diplomats can be hardnosed, defiant and at times unmovable. Yet none of these realities is an excuse that would warrant the Trump administration giving up on a diplomatic process that could very well lead to a vastly improved relationship between two sworn enemies.
President Trump appears to recognize the strategic opportunity in front of him. He told reporters that the personal rapport he has established with Kim will keep denuclearization talks alive despite the setback in Hanoi.
Indeed, Trump referred to that rapport during his post-summit press conference. “There’s a warmth that we have and I hope that stays,” he said.
Many in the media will judge the Trump-Kim summit as a failure, due in large part to the breakdown on the nuclear question and the…
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