Trump says US to stop war games with South Korea
By Kim Jae-kyoung
SINGAPORE ― U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signed a historic pact to achieve “complete denuclearization” of the Korean Peninsula in return for a regime security guarantee following their summit in Singapore, Tuesday.
At a press conference following the summit and the signing of the joint statement, President Trump said that the U.S. will stop joint military exercises with South Korea, which North Korea has opposed. He also expressed his willingness to travel to Pyongyang.
But the accord was hit for a lack of details, such as the sequencing of mutual concessions and how to ensure the verification of any steps toward denuclearization North Korea agrees to take.
Under the Singapore agreement, Kim reaffirmed his “firm and unwavering” commitment to complete denuclearization according to the Panmunjeom Declaration signed between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, April 27.
In return, Trump committed to provide security guarantees to the Kim regime by agreeing the two sides “will join their efforts to build a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.”
The agreement came after the first meeting between a sitting American president and a North Korean leader held at the Capella Hotel on the resort island of Sentosa, just off the city-state's coast.
“We're signing a very important document, pretty comprehensive document, and we've had a really great time together, a great relationship,” Trump said after a signing ceremony of the document.
“I think our whole relationship with North Korea and the Korean Peninsula is going to be a very much different situation than it has in the past. We both want to do something, we both are going to do something, and we have developed a very special bond,” Trump said.
For his part, the North Korean leader said, “It was not easy to get here. Today we had a very historic meeting, overcoming our past history and embarking on a new beginning. The world will see a major change. I'd like to express my gratitude to Mr. Trump for making this happen.”
During the press conference -- not joined by Kim -- Trump said that Kim agreed to destroy his regime's “major missile engine testing site.”
“Chairman Kim has before him an opportunity like no other to be remembered as the leader who ushered in a glorious new era of prosperity for his people,” he said.
“North Korea's denuclearization process will be done as fast as it can mechanically and physically be done,” he said.
But Trump said that sanctions will remain until the North takes tangible actions toward denuclearization.
“The sanctions will come off when we are sure the nukes are no longer a factor,” he said.
Trump said that he will stop “provocative and expensive” war games with South Korea. “I think it is very provocative...You have a country that is right next door,” he added.
He also said the U.S. will not reduce the U.S. military presence in South Korea.
“I'd like to bring them home, but that's not part of the equation right now. But we will be stopping the war games.”
The U.S. president hinted that the two leaders will meet again soon in Washington or Pyongyang.
At the end of the signing ceremony, Trump invited Kim to the U.S., asking, “Mr. Kim would you like to come to Washington?”
In response to questions on whether the two leaders will meet again, he said, “We'll meet again, we'll meet many times.”
Asked why he failed to get a commitment to complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization (CVID), he said, “No time to secure details.”
He said that the two sides will hold further discussions next week on the details of the document signed with Kim.
Delegations from the two sides had last-minute talks throughout Monday to iron out differences between CVID and a complete, verifiable and irreversible guarantee (CVIG) of security for the North.
Under the pact, the two leaders also promised to commit to establishing new, peaceful Washington-Pyongyang relations, while vowing to recover the remains of prisoners of war and war dead, including the immediate repatriation of those already identified.
The summit began at 10:03 a.m. (KST) with a 12-second, historic handshake revealing a bit of nerves between the two leaders.
After the handshake, they met one-on-one for 45 minutes with just translators.
They then made a brief appearance together on a balcony exposed to cameras, which was followed by an extended meeting involving aides of both leaders and a working luncheon.
The extended meeting was attended by key aides to both leaders, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton from the U.S., and Central Committee of the Workers' Party Vice Chairman Kim Yong-chol and Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho from the North.
Experts showed mixed reactions to the outcome of the summit.
“This historic summit confirmed that two unpredictable leaders can disrupt decades of stalemate on the Korean Peninsula,” said James Bindenagel, the Henry Kissinger Professor for Governance and International Security at Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms University in Bonn, Germany.
“The meeting recognized Kim Jong-un as a leader worthy of a meeting with the U.S. president. It is an extraordinary outcome for the hermit kingdom's isolated leader.”
However, Liang Tuang Nah, a research fellow at the Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies in Singapore, said the outcome of the summit was well within expectations.
“Neither leader can afford to have the summit fail. From Kim's perspective, a successfully concluded statement with Trump would cement his position, to both the North Korean people as well as the international community, that he is a legitimate world leader and that North Korea is the equal of the U.S.,” he said.
“Looking at the outcome in Trump's shoes, it can be argued that he needs a foreign policy victory to contrast the recent fiasco resulting from the concluded G7 summit,”