US–North Korea Summit (2018)
The US–North Korea Summit in June 2018 marked the first meeting between a sitting US president, Donald Trump, and North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un. This historic event took place in Singapore, with a central focus on North Korea's nuclear program, a significant point of contention for decades. Following the summit, both leaders issued a joint statement that was celebrated by their governments, yet it drew criticism for its vague commitments regarding denuclearization. Despite some initial optimism, subsequent relations between the US and North Korea remained uncertain, with ongoing tensions and mixed signals from both parties.
Key moments leading up to the summit included North Korea's missile tests and a potential diplomatic thaw initiated by Kim's overtures to South Korea. The summit followed a series of diplomatic maneuvers, including the release of American prisoners by North Korea. While the meeting established a framework for future cooperation and peace efforts, it did not produce a clear path for denuclearization, leaving analysts to debate its effectiveness. The aftermath saw continued discussions about a second meeting, amid concerns over North Korea's ongoing missile development and the implications of suspending US–South Korean military exercises.
US–North Korea Summit (2018)
Date: June 12, 2018
Place: Capella Hotel, Sentosa Island, Singapore
Summary
The June 2018 summit between the United States and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) was the first meeting between a sitting US president and the leader of North Korea. The core issue of the talks between US president Donald Trump and DPRK leader Kim Jong-un was North Korea’s nuclear program, a longstanding source of tension between the two countries. While both governments hailed the summit as a success, the resulting joint statement was widely seen as less than authoritative regarding denuclearization and other issues. Some examples of improved relations between the United States and North Korea emerged following the meeting, but tensions also continued to flare, leaving the ultimate impact of the summit unclear.
Key Events
- July 4, 2017 —US confirms successful intercontinental ballistic missile launch by North Korea and threatens to retaliate, highlighting growing conflict between the two countries.
- March 8, 2018 —South Korean diplomats relay message that North Korea would meet with US to discuss abandoning its nuclear program. President Trump agrees to the proposal.
- May 2018 —Trump cancels the planned meeting amid rising tensions, but it is later reinstated.
- June 12, 2018 —Summit takes place in Singapore; Trump and Kim sign a brief agreement.
- July 27, 2018 —According to summit agreement, North Korea returns remains of US soldiers killed in Korean War.
Status
As of late 2018, relations between the United States and North Korea remained volatile. Analysts continued to attempt to gauge how the historic summit influenced subsequent diplomatic developments. Complicating the situation was the fact that both Trump and Kim continued to send mixed signals on their views of the summit and ongoing negotiations. For example, in communications including posts on the social media site Twitter, Trump complained about North Korea’s lack of progress on denuclearization in August 2018, while the next month he praised Kim.
Among the major issues that remained outstanding after the summit were North Korea’s reported ongoing production of fissile material and construction of intercontinental ballistic missiles. Some apprehension also remained among US and South Korean leaders about the indefinite suspension of joint US–South Korean military exercises that Trump agreed to in Singapore. In September 2018 the White House announced that it was working to establish a second meeting between Trump and Kim, at the North Korean leader’s request.
In-Depth Overview
Since the Korean peninsula was divided in 1945, and especially since the Korean War of the 1950s, relations between the United States and North Korea have been adversarial. After decades of pursuing nuclear technology and advanced missiles, North Korea made dramatic advancements in its capabilities in the twenty-first century. It withdrew from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in 2003, and after a plan to give up its nuclear capacity in exchange for foreign aid fell apart, it claimed its first successful nuclear weapons test in 2006. The nation’s reputation as a rogue nuclear state continued after the ascension of Kim Jong-un as North Korea’s supreme leader in 2011.
In July 2017, the administration of US president Donald Trump—who had taken a hardline stance on North Korea’s nuclear ambitions during his campaign but had nonetheless indicated a willingness to talk with Kim—confirmed that North Korea had successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The US promised to leave no option off the table to deal with the threat. The next month, in response to continued provocations from North Korea, Trump stirred fears of nuclear war by stating that further threats would be met by “fire and fury.”
Tensions began to deescalate somewhat when Kim unexpectedly announced his desire to open talks with South Korea, allegedly due to his wish to include a North Korean delegation in the 2018 Winter Olympics. A summit between North and South Korean leaders was quickly planned. In March 2018, a South Korean envoy brought Trump an invitation from Kim for an in-person meeting to discuss denuclearization. Trump immediately accepted the invitation, to the reported surprise of both the South Korean officials and Trump’s own national security team.
After the historic inter-Korean summit occurred as planned in April 2018, efforts to confirm a Trump-Kim summit continued. Singapore was selected as a neutral location and a date of June 12 was set. North Korea signaled its good faith in the negotiations by releasing three American prisoners and destroying a nuclear test site. However, DPRK officials objected to US projections comparing North Korea to Libya, and rising tensions led Trump to cancel the summit in late May. It was reinstated days later after diplomatic efforts smoothed over the situation.
On June 10, 2018, Trump and Kim each arrived on Sentosa, a resort island in Singapore, where they stayed in separate but nearby hotels. Each leader made statements to the press that the meeting was a unique opportunity, in full view of the world, to try to achieve peace. Two days later, the summit itself lasted just five hours. The discussions focused around denuclearization, with the United States initially pushing for so-called complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization (CVID).
The immediate result of the summit was a joint statement signed by Trump and Kim and hailed by the two leaders as a groundbreaking step toward peace. Analysts, however, noted that the sparse document contained only four basic agreements, with vague wording and a lack of specific timelines. The two countries pledged to work together toward a recalibration of relations with the goal of peace and prosperity. They promised to work together for stable and lasting peace on the Korean peninsula. They reaffirmed the Panmunjom Declaration, reached weeks earlier at the inter-Korean summit to make steps toward denuclearization of the peninsula, but CVID went unmentioned. Finally, they committed to recovering and repatriating the remains of prisoners of war and those missing in action from the Korean War.
Another major point emerged at the press conferences held directly after the meetings. There, Trump appeared to unilaterally announce the suspension of longstanding US–South Korean military exercises. The decision drew surprise and some disapproval from American political and national security officials.
Immediate reactions to the US–North Korea summit were mixed. Many noted that Kim made no promises beyond what he had stated on previous occasions. No strong framework was established for denuclearization or any further agreements or treaties. Some analysts even considered the meeting largely a propaganda victory for Kim. However, others hailed it as a necessary first step toward lasting peace. This optimism was supported in July 2018, when believed remains from the Korean War were handed over to the US by the DPRK.
Key Figures
Donald Trump: US president.
Kim Jong-un: North Korean Supreme Leader.
Mike Pompeo: US secretary of state.
Ri Yong-ho: North Korean minister of foreign affairs.
Bibliography
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