The Singapore summit appeared to be a success. It was timed to perfection and went off like clockwork right from the handshake to the photo ops at different levels. It also showcased the fact that when leaders like Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un meet the world stops to take a deep breath. There was a feeling of goodness all around and Trump even took Kim to visit his specially armored vehicle known as the Beast.
According to the BBC, the US President gave an impression that the issue of the nuclear programs of North Korea is likely to be resolved soon.
However, the general perception of experts is that the hermit kingdom benefited more from the summit.
Treat Singapore summit as the starting point
The uneasy tension in the Korean peninsula with regular exchanges of words and verbal duels between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un had kept the world on edge. There were fears of a nuclear confrontation and South Korean president Moon Jae-in took the initiative to begin a peace process. The end result was the summit in Singapore.
The leader of North Korea has enhanced his standing in the world. Since the beginning of this year, Kim Jong-un has met the Chinese president twice, apart from the South Korean president, the leadership of Singapore and, finally, met the President of the United States.
The unilateral decision by Trump to halt the joint US-South Korea military exercises must have come as a huge relief to Kim Jong-un. It seems Trump has commented that such exercises are costly affairs. Moreover, to Kim’s relief, embarrassing issues like the violation of human rights did not come up for discussions.
Positives of the Singapore summit
CNN has labeled the Singapore summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un as a ‘dreamlike encounter.’ One of the positives of this meeting is a feeling of goodwill that it has generated. Until now, attempts to bring the United States and North Korea to the table have failed and the summit opens up a whole world of possibilities.
Donald Trump can take credit for proving that he is a leader who can make things happen. That is expected to help him in the forthcoming midterm elections because White House could project him as a leader who wants peace.
A beginning has been made to end hostilities in the Korean peninsula. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will now have to formulate the methodology of ensuring that North Korea completes the denuclearization process at the earliest possible point in time. Both sides must agree to a time-frame for destroying all the nuclear arsenal held by Pyongyang so that peace can return.
