South Korean President Moon Jae-in said North Korea might end its nuclear program while the US keeps its troops in South Korea. We’ve been here before.
By Alex Ward@AlexWardVoxalex.ward@
vox.
vox.
North Korea may have just announced a major concession ahead of talks with President Donald Trump.
According to South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Thursday, North Korea is ready for “complete denuclearization,” meaning that it would stop improving its nuclear weapons and missiles that can hit America and its allies. What’s more, North Korea would do that — and the US can keep its troops in South Korea.
If North Korea is seriously considering that, it would be a marked shift from its past stance. When Pyongyang usually talks about denuclearization, US troop removal is always a sticking point. Pyongyang fears that US troops are only waiting to invade North Korea, and so it wants to keep its nuclear arsenal to deter that incursion. But now, it’s possible America’s 28,500 troops on the Korean Peninsula can stay as North Korea winds down its program.
Pyongyang’s new stance, if true, could change the tenor of Trump’s potential meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in late May or early June. Abraham Denmark, a former top Asia security official at the Pentagon, tweeted on Thursday that North Korea’s announcement could mean Trump and Kim may strike an agreement.
“Looks like a deal may actually be coming together,” Denmark said. “Shaping up to be a comprehensive package that involves a peace regime, denuclearization, and eventual normalization of relations.”
On Wednesday, Trump expressed his wishes for a good meeting with Kim — but promised not to engage if it goes awry before or during the face-to-face. “If I think that it’s a meeting that is not going to be fruitful, we’re not going to go,” Trump said at Mar-a-Lago alongside Shinzo Abe, the Japanese prime minister. “If the meeting, when I’m there, is not fruitful, I will respectfully leave the meeting.”
North Korea’s announcement, via Moon, comes just two days after CIA Director Mike Pompeo’s secret meeting with Kim over Easter weekend became public. And the policy change will surely affect Kim and Moon’s April 27 summit to discuss a formal peace treaty — which would formally end the Korean War. (Right now both sides have signed an armistice, not a peace treaty, which means the countries are technically still at war.)
Don’t get too excited about the end of North Korea’s nuclear program yet. We’ve been here before.
It would be a great thing if the US could trust North Korea’s new position. But diplomacy with North Korea is hard for one simple reason: Pyongyang promises a lot but then doesn’t follow through.
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