President Trump Announces Possible Talks With North Korea’s Kim Jong-un

This week, a South Korean delegation announced from the White House that President Trump would be meeting with North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un in the relatively near future. The announcement spawned from talks between a South Korean official, who had met with Kim Jong-un, and President Trump. The official from Seoul, Chung Eui-yong, told the President that Kim wanted to meet with him. President Trump immediately agreed to this and instructed the South Korean official to announce the plan.

The announcement has sparked controversy in the White House as some members of Trump’s administration have appeared to backtrack the announcement. Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has since stated that the meeting will not take place unless North Korea provides certain concessions, which has been the United States policy towards meeting with a North Korean leader for the 70-year duration of hostility between the two countries. Mere hours before the announcement, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson stated that the time was not ripe for a meeting and that “we’re a long way from negotiations.”

Tillerson has since said that the North Korean dictator’s recent decision to meet is “not just a willingness but his strong desire for talks.” Vice President Mike Pence attributes this drastic change in North Korean policy to the isolation techniques employed by the Trump administration. He has also stated that the United States will be making zero concessions for the meeting to take place. The economic sanctions imposed on the North Korean state will remain in place despite a possible movement toward negotiations. The sanctions imposed under President Trump have been some of the strongest against North Korea.

World leaders have since weighed in on the possible meeting between President Trump and Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un. Chinese President Xi Jinping has expressed his interest in the two countries starting a dialogue as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has cautioned the Trump administration to continue to maintain pressure on the North Korean state amid possible diplomatic talks. South Korean President Moon Jae-in appears to be wary of the success of the talks, remaining realistic while maintaining optimism. In addition, Russia’s foreign minister has labeled the possible talks as “a step in the right direction.”

The possible negotiation talks would be the first to take place between a North Korean leader and a standing U.S. president during the seven-decade standoff between the two nations. The Trump administration’s hope is to move toward North Korean denuclearization. President Trump stated that denuclearization, not a freeze of the program, was the point of focus during the meeting between Kim Jong-un and South Korean official, Chung Eui-yong. The President maintains optimism that the talks will take place, tweeting, “the deal with North Korea is very much in the making and will be, if completed, a very good one for the World.”