Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un kickstarted their landmark summit with an exchange of cordial greetings and a firm handshake.
South Korean news agency, Yonhap reported that Kim said in English, “Nice to meet you, Mr. President.”
The two men met at an upscale Singaporean hotel on an island resort for a full day of meetings which would likely have major implications to the geopolitics of the Korean Peninsula and the world.
This is the first ever meeting of a sitting US President with a North Korean Supreme leader. Just months ago, this moment would have been unthinkable amid a slew of verbal insults aimed at each other and Kim’s barrage of missile tests which stoked further tensions between the pair.
What’s on the discussion table?
Trump and Kim have a long day ahead of them. According to the White House, the President is set to have a bilateral meeting with the supreme leader and a working lunch soon after before holding a final press conference later this evening.
Korean news outlets are speculating that the tentative talking points between the pair today would be denuclearisation and a possible peace treaty for the Korean Peninsula.
Hoo Chiew-Ping, an expert on Korean security affairs at the National University of Malaysia says that there is a possibility that both leaders may not have come to terms with what constitutes ‘denuclearisation.”
The term has been a potent point of contention – differing definitions between the two may derail talks according to some analysts. According to some reports, Kim has been sidestepping the issue of the North giving up its nuclear programme whenever he has been asked by the US.
“I suppose today both sides would want to make it work unless North Korea has other plans to make the summit a failure,” Hoo remarked further.
Will the summit be a success?
Hoo also opined that the celebrity status accorded to Kim thus far in Singapore may play a part in these talks. She pointed to a report by Rodong Sinmun – the official mouthpiece of North Korea’s ruling party – which carried a report on Kim’s tour the night before in Singapore’s premier tourist hotspot, Marina Bay Sands. The portal did not shy away from Singapore’s beauty and technological advancements.
The newspaper also reported Kim Jong Un as saying that he can work with countries even though they are enemies if they respect North Korean autonomy.
“I think Kim Jong Un would ultimately decide the outcome of the summit but this will depend on how he is treated during the negotiations,” Hoo opined. “If he is treated with respect, some compromise can be salvaged if not Kim might just walk away from any agreement.”
Henrick Tsjeng, Associate Research Fellow at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) told The ASEAN Post that he expects a “modestly successful summit.”
A successful summit, he said, would be one where both Trump and Kim are able to build confidence and a perception that they have each made some headway in their aims. This, would set the stage for further dialogue.
“Of course, even such a modest success could unravel very quickly down the road if one party decides to resume a belligerent posture,” Tsjeng elaborated.
“An unsuccessful summit would be one in which talks break down, leading to renewed and heightened tensions, possibly similar to what was seen in 2017 with harsh words and bellicose actions by both sides.”