A Surprising Turn: Trump, Kim Jong Un Agree to Unprecedented Meeting
Progress on the long-held North Korea stalemate? In a most surprising state of affairs, North Korea says it will halt its nuclear weapons program and Kim Jong Un will meet with Donald Trump in the coming months, the Washington Post reports.
“[Kim] expressed his eagerness to meet Trump as soon as possible,”
Chung Eui-Yong told reporters Thursday at the White House.
“President Trump said he would meet Kim Jong Un by May.”
The South Korean national security adviser was part of a delegation that arrived at the White House on Thursday to deliver a letter from Kim directly to Trump, according to CNN.
Chung had led a delegation that met with Kim in Pyongyang on Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times reports. That meeting left South Korea feeling hopeful about a diplomatic solution to the ongoing nuclear crisis with North Korea.
Related: Plan Your Funeral If Heading to North Korea
There’s no information about where the meeting between Trump and Kim will take place, but it will be the first face-to-face meeting between a sitting US president and the leader of North Korea. In fact, no sitting president has ever held a phone call with the North Korean leader. Chung gave Trump credit for the breakthrough.
“I explained to President Trump that his leadership and his maximum pressure strategy … brought us to this juncture…”
…Chung said. But analysts are split on whether Kim is agreeing to halt his nuclear program and meet with Trump because sanctions are working and he fears a US attack or because he now sees the countries as equal nuclear powers.
Kim will meet with South Korean President Moon Jae-in next month—only the third-ever meeting between the leaders of North and South Korea since 1953.
Edited Via Newser.
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There’s no telling what the public will think but it will be along political and tribal lines. I would bet that no meeting will take place, but I’d put a bigger bet that we will come out second in any agreement if there is one. A little flattery and Trump will pin a medal on himself in front of cheering crowds at the parade ground and Kim will go on doing what he pleases.
Does anyone here remember the whole peace talks shenanigans in the 50’s. Just think about it. Clinton tried it once, and of course the North Koreans cheated. Do the South Koreans really think that little Kim is going to suddenly allow people to begin to wander in and out of his country or to allow his people to wander out of his country. Does anyone really believe that after all this time they have finally gotten a small nuclear arsenal, with the help of the Russians I might add, that he is going to give it up. Come on people! In this situation they have everything to gain and nothing to lose, and while we will gain nothing we will just lose a little respect around the world. Trump does not understand that the North Koreas are nothing if not patient, well planned people. All of the years that they have been wanting to be able to instill the world with the fearsome, “We are nuclear now” has arrived. To prove how powerful we are now the President is willing to meet with me just as he meets with the other heads of states in the world. The way to play this game from Kim’s perspective is being patient and playing with the fool.
Now I do hope I am wrong but this all does not make sense. Kim will never allow a unified Korea. If he wanted it he could have had it numerous times over the past 50+ years. Kim could likely be tried as a war criminal as it is since we are still technically at war with them. He has killed off his uncle and probably a few more family members. He has entire families in work camps working off alleged wrongs that their ancestors may have committed. The concept that the millions of North Korean people would suddenly be told that there Dear Leader is not a God, and that they have suffered all these years to get the magical nuclear missile so he can just give it away. Heh, heh, yep, I will believe after it happens and lasts more than six months,
This scares the hell out of me. Trump chump doesn’t know the difference between a centrifuge and subterfuge and both would be elements of any meeting. I assume Dennis Rodman will be the presidents’ (that is plural possessive, not a typo) special adviser, and probably the new US Ambassador to North Korea.
What can possibly go wrong?
Cynical me says this is all a big distraction for us to look over here, I’m doing this one good thing and NOTHING will come of it.
I agree with you. It’s all a distraction, because pretty much everything is these days.
This could save Trump. His base will point to this as the greatest success ever, and they could be right.