Trump expresses hopes that summit with Kim Jong-un is a “worldwide success”

Posted on : 2018-04-20 18:33 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
The US President also cautioned that the meeting could fall through if it was deemed unlikely to produce results
US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hold a joint press conference at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach
US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hold a joint press conference at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach

US President Donald Trump presented his ideas and vision for “peace on the Korean Peninsula” in refined terms for the first time ahead of a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

At the same time, Trump hinted at the possibility that the meeting could fall through or break down, stressing that he did not intend to be drawn into any battles of will beforehand.

In introductory remarks during a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Apr. 18, Trump expressed his determination and hopes for the summit.

“We will be doing everything possible to make [the summit with Kim] a worldwide success,” he said.

“We hope to see the day when the whole Korean Peninsula can live together in safety, prosperity, and peace,” he continued. “This is the destiny of the Korean people who deserve and have gone through so much over the years.”

The remarks suggest his comments the day before about South and North Korea having his “blessing” to discuss an end to the Korean War emerged from the long-term goal of establishing a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.

Trump also stressed that his administration “will not repeat the mistakes of previous administrations. Our campaign of maximum pressure will continue until North Korea denuclearizes.”

“We have to end nuclear weapons, ideally in all parts of the world. That would be a goal for all of us, to hope for and to cherish,” he added.

“There is a bright path available to North Korea when it achieves denuclearization in a complete and verifiable, and irreversible way,” Trump continued.

“It will be a great day for them. It will be great day for the world.”

In an ensuing question-and-answer session, Trump addressed the issue of the release of three Americans currently detained in North Korea.

“We are negotiating now. We are doing our very best,” he said.

A Reuters report the same day quoted a senior US government official as saying Central Intelligence Agency director and Secretary of State nominee Mike Pompeo had raised the issue of the Americans’ release during a recent meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang.

Trump also said, “If we don’t think [the North Korea-US summit is] going to be successful . . . we won’t have it.”

“If I think that it’s a meeting that is not going to be fruitful, we’re not going to go,” he added.

“If the meeting, when I’m there, is not fruitful, I will respectfully leave the meeting, and we’ll continue what we’re doing,” he said.

At the same time, his immediate qualification that “something will happen” hinted that his remarks were intended as a pressure tactic to gain a negotiating advantage in terms of the summit’s venue and agenda.

Trump and Abe display cooperation on North Korean issue

A White House press release the same day said that Trump and Abe had “reaffirmed that North Korea needs to abandon all weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs” – ratcheting up the US’ aims ahead of its summit with North Korea.

In his remarks during the joint press conference, Abe said, “If North Korea takes the right path under the Japan-North Korea Pyongyang Declaration [of 2002], there could be a possible path to settle the unfortunate past and to normalize diplomatic relationship.” Abe’s remarks suggested he may be breaking from his past emphasis on pressure alone against Pyongyang and coordinating more with the US in its pursuit of dialogue.

Meanwhile, the New York Times quoted an anonymous US official as saying that Pyongyang and the Demilitarized Zone (Panmunjeom) had been ruled out as candidate venues for the North Korea-US summit. Mongolia, which was mentioned as a candidate at one point due its neutral stance and geographic proximity to the North, was also reportedly out of the running. The newspaper also said that Singapore, Vietnam, Sweden, and Switzerland were being considered but may be seen as too distant from North Korea, while the failure to decide on a venue for the summit has prevented the final date from being confirmed.

By Cho Ki-weon, Tokyo correspondent and Yi Yong-in, Washington correspondent

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]

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