On June 12, 2018, Donald Trump,
the President of the United States,
met with Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea,
in Singapore,
in the first summit meeting between the leaders of the two countries.
Immediately following the summit, Trump announced that the US would discontinue military
exercises in the vicinity of the Korean peninsula and Kim reiterated his
commitment to "work towards denuclearization." The gestures marked
perhaps the most significant turning point in North Korea-U.S. relations since
the Korean War.
Trump Greets Kim Jong-Un
Singapore, considered politically benign territory
by both sides, made thorough preparations to host the summit, which took place
at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa
Island. According to
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the summit had cost the Singaporean government
S$20 million (US$15 million), half of which was spent on security measures.
Each leader also met with Prime Minister Lee prior to their summit meeting.
Preparations for the meeting took
place in fits and starts. High-level exchanges between the two sides took place
prior to the meeting, including a visit by then CIA Director Mike Pompeo to Pyongyang and a visit by Kim
Yong-chol, Vice Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea, to the White House.
Both sides threatened to cancel the summit after a round of joint military
exercises by the US and South Korea,
with Trump even delivering a formal letter to Kim to call off the meeting;
however, the two sides eventually agreed to meet.
Background
Korea has been divided since 1945. The Korean
War of 1950–1953 ended with an armistice agreement but not a peace settlement.
A sporadic conflict has continued, with American troops remaining in the South.
Since the 1990s, international concern has grown about North Korea's nuclear
weapons program. President George W. Bush referred to North Korea as part of an "axis of
evil" during his 2002 State of the Union address, but towards the end of
his administration, North
Korea voluntarily gave information on its
nuclear program in exchange for sanction relief, and they were soon after taken
off the State Sponsors of Terrorism list. Despite this, nuclear inspectors were
barred from surveying any North Korean weapons facilities towards the end of
2008. The Obama administration had a policy of "strategic patience"
toward negotiations with the North. More nuclear tests were conducted in the
succeeding years, and the 2010 bombardment of Yeonpyeong markedly raised
tensions between North Korea
and South Korea.
The escalation of North
Korea's nuclear program advanced particularly
under the rule of Kim Jong-un who became the leader in December 2011, after his
father died.
Donald Trump was elected US President in 2016 with a position of
opposition to Barack Obama's policy of "strategic patience" towards North Korea.
While advocating a tough stance, he also expressed openness to dialogue, saying
he would be prepared to "eat a hamburger" with Chairman Kim Jong-un.
In return a North Korean-linked website described him as a "wise
politician". In 2017, Moon Jae-in was elected President of South Korea
with a promise to return to the Sunshine Policy of friendly relations with the
North.
North Korea successfully tested its first intercontinental
ballistic missile (ICBM), named Hwasong-14, in July 2017. In response to
heightened North Korean rhetoric, President Trump warned that any North Korean
attack "will be met with fire, fury and frankly power, the likes of which
the world has never seen before". In response, North
Korea announced that it was considering a missile test in
which the missiles would land near the US
territory of Guam. North Korea tested its first hydrogen
bomb on September 3. The test was internationally condemned, and further economic
sanctions were put on North
Korea. The United
States also added North Korea back to its State
Sponsors of Terrorism list after nine years. On November 28, North Korea launched another missile, which,
according to analysts, would be capable of reaching anywhere in the United States.
The United Nations responded by placing further sanctions on the country. After
North Korea claimed that the missile was capable of "carrying [a]
super-heavy [nuclear] warhead and hitting the whole mainland of the U.S.",
Kim-Jong-Un announced that they had "finally realized the great historic
cause of completing the state nuclear force", putting them in a position
of strength to push the United States into talks.
In his New Year address for 2018,
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un proposed sending a delegation to the upcoming
Winter Olympics in South
Korea. In January a false missile alert in
January alarmed Hawaii.
The Seoul–Pyongyang hotline was reopened after almost two years. North and South Korea
marched together in the Olympics opening ceremony and fielded a united women's
ice hockey team. As well as the athletes, North Korea sent an unprecedented
high-level delegation, headed by Kim Yo-jong, sister of Kim Jong-un, and nominal
head of state Kim Yong-nam, and including performers like the Samjiyon
Orchestra. The delegation passed on an invitation to President Moon to visit North Korea
One on One
Meeting
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un
arrived at Capella Hotel first before United States President Donald Trump
arrived 6 minutes later. They started the summit at 9:04 local time with a
12-second handshake and then participated in a one-on-one meeting, with interpreters
only. At 09:53 local time, Trump and Kim emerged from the one-on-one talks and
walked down the corridor to the Cassia where the expanded bilateral meeting
took place. Trump described the one-on-one meeting as "very very
good" when asked by a reporter.
Expanded Bilateral Meeting
and Working Lunch
Both countries' delegations
proceeded to participate in an expanded bilateral meeting and a working lunch.
Both delegations dined together
on Korean, Southeast Asian and Western dishes with ice cream, tropezienne, and dark
chocolate tartlet ganache as dessert. After the lunch, Trump and Kim took a
short walk together and viewed the interior of the Presidential state car.
Joint Signing Ceremony
Subsequently, Trump and Kim
signed a joint statement, titled "Joint Statement of President Donald J.
Trump of the United States of America
and Chairman Kim Jong Un of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
at the Singapore Summit", which Trump described as a "very important"
and "comprehensive" agreement.
The document said:
President Trump and Chairman Kim
Jong Un state the following:
- The United States and the DPRK
commit to establish new U.S.-DPRK relations in accordance with the desire
of the peoples of the two countries for peace and prosperity.
- The United
States and the DPRK will join their efforts to build
a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.
- Reaffirming the April 27, 2018 Panmunjom
Declaration, the DPRK commits to work towards the complete denuclearization
of the Korean
Peninsula.
- The United States and the DPRK
commit to recovering POW/MIA remains including the immediate repatriation
of those already identified.
No comments:
Post a Comment