김동현 일민국제관계연구원 방문학자
U.S. President Donald Trump performed a stunning reality show from Panmunjeom in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), which divides the two Koreas, on Sunday.
In less than a day-and- a-half after Trump tweeted his desire to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, a third U.S-North Korea summit took place, briefly joined by the South Korean President. It was an incredible event that came about in an incredible way.
Trump's meeting with Kim, lasting almost an hour, was a historic event that renewed hope for a diplomatic resolution to the nuclear issue and a peace settlement on the Korean Peninsula.
As a concrete step, Trump and Kim agreed to start working-level talks within a few weeks, putting an end to the stalled negotiations since the Hanoi summit.
Trump and Kim met and shook hands on the border line, Kim escorted Trump about 10 meters into North Korean territory before crossing the line into the South, where they were joined by President Moon Je-in for greetings. Moon was taking the back seat, encouraging dialogue between the U.S. and North Korea.
Only after Trump and Kim actually met, was it known that the dramatic holding of the meeting was made possible really because of Trump's spontaneous tweet Saturday morning: "If Chairman Kim of North Korea sees this, I would meet him at the Border/DMZ just to shake his hand and say Hello(?)!"
In five hours after Trump's tweet, the North Korean vice foreign minister welcomed the Twitter message as "a very interesting suggestion."
Kim told Trump that he did not learn of Trump's official proposal until Saturday afternoon. It is unheard of that a summit meeting has been set up in a matter of a day. The meeting took place probably because of the good relations between Trump and Kim, which both leaders kept saying is the case.
On June 23, the major news outlets of North Korea for domestic and foreign audiences reported Kim had received a letter from Trump that had "excellent content," quoting him as saying that "he would contemplate an interesting part of it." Later, Trump said it was a reply to Kim's letter for his birthday.
However, it must have taken more than good personal relations or the chemistry between the two leaders to meet without any agenda or any change in their positions on nuclear negotiations. That could have been a coincidence in their respective interests in domestic politics.
Trump has announced that he is running for reelection in 2020. His vulnerable areas include foreign policy setbacks, while he has been portraying North Korea as his success story. He gambled on Kim's acceptance of his request on such a short notice. As Trump said himself, he would have been embarrassed if Kim had let him down.
For Kim, he needs to address a dire food shortage on top of a worsening economic problem especially due to toughening U.S. and multilateral sanctions.
As former secretary of state Collin Powell said, "They cannot eat plutonium." Proud North Koreans would not beg for meetings, at the cost of face. Standing equal to, and treated well by, the U.S. president, enhances Kim's image and helps in sustaining his power base at home.
Trump won his gamble and succeeded in drawing everybody's attention, dominating the media coverage. He is right when he says that no U.S. president did what he does with North Korea.
He argues that the U.S. would be at war with the North, if he had not been elected. He claims he stopped Kim from conducting nuclear tests and launching long range missiles. He still says he is in no rush to achieve denuclearization.
In a joint press conference with Trump after a bilateral summit in Seoul, Moon said the U.S. agreed to pursue a "simultaneous and parallel" approach to the implementation of the Singapore agreement on new relations between Pyongyang and Washington, a peace regime on the peninsula, and "complete denuclearization."
Trump's top-down format has now produced an agreement to start working-level negotiations. The U.S. team will be headed by its nuclear envoy Stephen Biegun, and the North team by a representative yet to be designated.
Unlike hawkish secretary of state Mike Pompeo or bellicose national security adviser John Bolton, Biegun has shown his willingness to learn and understand the North Korean narrative.
Biegun recently mentioned a "simultaneous and parallel approach," and a phased process, instead of a big deal for early, comprehensive dismantlement of Kim's nuclear and missile programs. There is a lot of work to do for both teams at the working level.
[The Korea Times, 2019-7-1]
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/opinion/2019/07/137_271545.html