Experts explain why Trump - Kim failed to reach an agreement
Analysts say Washington was too hasty in pushing for a second summit with North Korea.
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US President Donald Trump at a press conference after the summit with North Korea in Hanoi on February 28. Photo:Reuters |
President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ended their second summit in Hanoi at noon on February 28 without reaching a common agreement. At a press conference that began at 2 p.m., the US President said that disagreements over sanctions were the reason why his summit with the North Korean leader did not achieve the expected results.
According toCNN"We need a real plan that comes from the international community and agreements like the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty that North Korea could join tomorrow and start the process of disarmament legally," said Akira Kawasaki, an expert at the International Committee for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons.
Van Jackson, author of "On the Brink: Trump, Kim and the Threat of Nuclear War," said Washington should have waited a little longer before holding the second summit in Hanoi. According to Jackson, the Trump administration should have been patient until special envoy for Korean Peninsula issues Steve Biegun made some progress at the negotiating table.
“That’s why you can’t have a leaders’ summit that’s separate from the actual negotiations. Even if it’s a success by the Trump administration’s definition,” Jackson said. “It still fails to address North Korea’s nuclear arsenal, which has been off the table for months.”
According to this expert, after Washington and Pyongyang failed to reach a joint statement in Hanoi and President Trump said he was "in no hurry" to persuade North Korea to denuclearize, the Trump administration "seems to have failed to reach even very low-level agreements."
Reporter David Nakamura ofWashington Postcommented that "it is difficult to imagine a third summit because people have lost faith in the process" of denuclearization negotiations on the Korean peninsula. The US President said that he and Chairman Kim Jong-un have not committed to holding another summit.
Joseph Yun, a former US diplomat on North Korea, said the second summit in Hanoi ended abruptly due to "lack of preparation".
"I've been to many summits. Usually these summits require a lot of hard work at many levels and the fact that an agreement is reached is a pre-planned outcome. This time we saw very little preparation and I was worried about that," Yun said. "We said the Singapore summit was not substantial but at least it was a summit that laid the foundation. So after Singapore, we have something to hold on to."
This expert said that President Trump's administration has made too many concessions and lowered the conditions with North Korea but "they can't even pass those conditions".
According to Mr. Yun, the internal political turmoil in Washington could also be a reason why President Trump and Chairman of North Korea could not reach any agreement. Previously, some comments said that the Democratic Party scheduled Mr. Trump's former lawyer Cohen to testify right on the occasion of the US-North Korea summit, which was disadvantageous for the White House owner.
Leonid Petrov, a North Korea expert at the Australian National University, said he expected this outcome. "The Americans are not ready to end the war and the North Koreans are not ready to surrender. There is a huge gap between expectations and bitter reality."
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US President Donald Trump (left) and North Korean President Kim Jong-un at the second US-North Korea summit in Hanoi. Photo:CNN. |