The date and venue for the summit meeting between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un are finalized and the US president is understandably happy at the way things are working out. He is on track to achieve what no other president has been able to. He looks at the developments in North Korea as something good because it could bring peace to the Korean peninsula.
USA Today reports that a number of contentious issues will have to be resolved to mutual satisfaction before the two leaders can shake hands. These are being identified and suitable strategies will have to be worked out to avoid hiccups.
Status of US troops
Withdrawal of US troops is expected to be a major issue that North Korea will want to finalize at the summit meeting. The US has deployed warships in the region to protect its allies, South Korea and Japan. If Kim Jong-un abandons his nuclear ambitions, puts the plug on his nuclear test site and destroys his nuclear weapons, the US troops will no longer be required.
Donald Trump will have to ensure that this issue is taken care of because if the threat of nuclear weapons is neutralized, the troops can be deployed elsewhere. Trump has said that there have been no talks on withdrawal of troops but it could be on the cards from the point of view of economy.
On this subject, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has already indicated that this will be sorted out by its allies South Korea and Japan in coordination with North Korea.
He had made this statement soon after the meeting between Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong-un.
North Korea appears to be jittery
The US has sent eight several stealth fighter jets to be a part of the annual joint South Korea-U.S. air training. North Korea perceives this as an attempt to disrupt the process that is gradually building up to herald in peace in the Korean peninsula.
They have warned the United States that the North’s efforts to bring peace should not be taken as a sign of its weakness.
Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un are unpredictable leaders and have engaged in verbal duels in the past. Therefore, both sides must tread with caution to ensure that the ongoing peace process is not jeopardized.
North Korea had conducted missile tests, it had sent ICBMs flying over Japan and had also identified a few US targets for nuclear attacks. Those actions gave rise to global panic which is gradually receding after the recent initiatives taken by the two Koreas. The world does not want any further escalation of tension but, wants peace to return.
