Nuclear Failure: Results of the Hanoi Summit
The summit in the Vietnamese capital ended in vain, as Trump did not express a desire to lift the sanctions in exchange for the closure of the main North Korean uranium enrichment plant in Yongbyon. The American leader was frankly not interested in the North Korean problem: besieged by investigations and public hearings in Congress of his former attorney Michael Cohen, which took place simultaneously with the summit, Trump had much less space for foreign policy maneuver than before. The scandalous 45 president admitted this, saying: "I think that holding such a false hearing during this very important summit is a really awful thing."
If a more favorable internal climate had developed before the summit inside the country, a phased conclusion of the agreement could be possible, including the establishment of diplomatic relations, the freezing or reduction of nuclear weapons DPRK in a verifiable way and easing US and South Korean sanctions. According to some sources, Kim may have considered creating a kind of US liaison office in Pyongyang to maintain constant contact between the two governments.
In general, there is no objective reason why these negotiations should fail. The North Koreans believe that after the first summit in Singapore, they took the first necessary steps to build confidence sufficient to end the sanctions, and some American experts agreed to this. But Trump's insistent advisors, committed to the requirement of “complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization,” made sure the administration extended sanctions and rejected South Korea’s proposals to weaken their own. (Recall, Trump said: "They do nothing without our approval." - Comm. Auth.)
On the eve of the second summit, Donald Trump said: “I don’t want to rush anyone. I just do not want trials. There is no test, we will be happy. "
Well, Kim made him happy, the DPRK’s moratorium on nuclear weapons testing will continue to work. But the outcome of the Hanoi meeting left the entire supply of bombs and missiles of Pyongyang intact, allowed to continue to accumulate fissile material and, most importantly, to continue research and development of nuclear weapons and missiles of various ranges. Of course, tests are necessary to determine the reliability of weapons, but so far, as the North Korean leader said, the DPRK is confident that it possesses the necessary nuclear and missile potential.
It is difficult to say how the situation will develop in the future. Both sides adhered to the “all or nothing” approach, which probably means that, although the North Koreans will refuse to test weapons, they will continue to improve their weapons, and the Americans will continue to insist on sanctions, which obviously do not work . Cherished denuclearization has become an even more distant prospect than ever.
If a more favorable internal climate had developed before the summit inside the country, a phased conclusion of the agreement could be possible, including the establishment of diplomatic relations, the freezing or reduction of nuclear weapons DPRK in a verifiable way and easing US and South Korean sanctions. According to some sources, Kim may have considered creating a kind of US liaison office in Pyongyang to maintain constant contact between the two governments.
In general, there is no objective reason why these negotiations should fail. The North Koreans believe that after the first summit in Singapore, they took the first necessary steps to build confidence sufficient to end the sanctions, and some American experts agreed to this. But Trump's insistent advisors, committed to the requirement of “complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization,” made sure the administration extended sanctions and rejected South Korea’s proposals to weaken their own. (Recall, Trump said: "They do nothing without our approval." - Comm. Auth.)
On the eve of the second summit, Donald Trump said: “I don’t want to rush anyone. I just do not want trials. There is no test, we will be happy. "
Well, Kim made him happy, the DPRK’s moratorium on nuclear weapons testing will continue to work. But the outcome of the Hanoi meeting left the entire supply of bombs and missiles of Pyongyang intact, allowed to continue to accumulate fissile material and, most importantly, to continue research and development of nuclear weapons and missiles of various ranges. Of course, tests are necessary to determine the reliability of weapons, but so far, as the North Korean leader said, the DPRK is confident that it possesses the necessary nuclear and missile potential.
It is difficult to say how the situation will develop in the future. Both sides adhered to the “all or nothing” approach, which probably means that, although the North Koreans will refuse to test weapons, they will continue to improve their weapons, and the Americans will continue to insist on sanctions, which obviously do not work . Cherished denuclearization has become an even more distant prospect than ever.
Information