North Korea nuclear weapons program

Trump, Kim Jong Un Get a Deal Done, Sign “A Pretty Historic” Document

And just like that, after meeting for several hours in the morning in Singapore which was in the middle of the night as America slept, President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un came to an agreement.

Trump and Kim signed the agreement on Tuesday while Trump said the North Korean leader “reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.” In exchange, Trump agreed to “provide security guarantees” to North Korea.

Trump has agreed to a second summit and will eventually host Jong at the White House, something that was completely unheard of just a few months ago.

For Kim Jong Un, this agreement and the meeting with Trump is a huge gamble. The despotic, iron-fisted ruler of a closed, paranoid country that has committed countless acts of human rights abuses against its own people, is a sign they may indeed come out of the dark.

Speaking thru an interpreter, Kim Jong Un said, “It has not been easy to come to this point,” Kim said. “For us, the past has been holding us back and old practices and prejudices have been covering our eyes and ears, but we have been able to overcome everything to arrive here today.”

Trump also promised to stop the Korean war games, something which the North Koreans viewed as provocative. As to withdrawing U.S. troops from Korea, Trump said that is the goal but it probably wouldn’t happen for some time.

Mike Pompeo, while he was the CIA Director traveled to the North twice to set the stage for the historic summit. He got a lot of the obstacles cleared and where the two countries were taunting each other with nuclear war a few months ago, a deal, perhaps just the preliminary one has been reached. It was Kim Jong Un’s first time he was seen outside of his own country since taking power in 2011.

The Text of the Agreement:

Convinced that the establishment of new US-DPRK relations will contribute to the peace and prosperity of the Korean Peninsula and of the world, and recognizing that mutual confidence building cam promote the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong Un state the following:

The United States and the DPRK commit to establish new US-DPRK relations in accordance with the desire of the peoples of the two countries for peace and prosperity.
The United States and DPRK will join their efforts to build a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.
Reaffirming the April 27, 2018 Panmunjom Declaration, the DPRK commits to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula
The United States and the DPRK commit to recovering POW/MIA remains, including the immediate repatriation of those already identified.

Having acknowledged that the US-DPRK summit — the first in history — was an epochal event of great significance in overcoming decades of tensions and hostilities between the two countries and for the opening up of a new future, President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong Un commit to implement the stipulations in the joint statement fully and expeditiously.

The United States and the DPRK commit to hold follow-on negotiations, led by the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, and a relevant high-level DPRK official, at the earliest possible date, to implement the outcomes of the US-DPRK summit.

President Donald J. Trump of the United States of America and Chairman Kim Jong Un of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea have committed to cooperate for the development of new US-DPRK relations and for the promotion of peace, prosperity, and the security of the Korean Peninsula and of the world.

DONALD J. TRUMP
President of the United States of America
KIM JONG UN
Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
June 12, 2018
Sentosa Island
Singapore

US: North Korea Replaces Top Three Military Officers

In a move U.S. officials say is to jump-start the country’s economic development and engage more with the outside world, North Korea has replaced their top three military officers.

Kim Jong Un is preparing for a high-stakes summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Singapore on June 12, the first such meeting between a North Korean leader and a sitting U.S. president.
The U.S. official, who spoke on Sunday on condition of anonymity, was commenting on a report by South Korea’s Yonhap news agency that all three of the North’s top military officials were believed to have been replaced.
Kim’s motivation remains unclear but analysts said the shake-up allows him and the ruling party to tighten control over the Korean People’s Army (KPA) at a critical time of international engagement and domestic development.
“If Kim Jong Un is set on making peace with the U.S. and South Korea and dealing away at least part of the nuclear program, he will have to put the KPA’s influence in a box and keep it there,” said Ken Gause, director of the International Affairs Group at CNA, a non-profit research and analysis organization.
The United States is seeking a negotiated end to North Korea’s nuclear weapons program and U.S. officials believe there was some dissension in the military about Kim’s approaches to South Korea and the United States.
Trump wants North Korea to “denuclearize”, or get rid of its nuclear arsenal, in return for relief from economic sanctions. North Korea’s leadership is believed to regard nuclear weapons as crucial to its survival, while Kim has said he plans to focus on economic development.
Citing an unidentified intelligence official, Yonhap said No Kwang Chol, first vice minister of the Ministry of People’s Armed Forces, had replaced Pak Yong Sik as defense chief, while Ri Myong Su was replaced by his deputy, Ri Yong Gil.
North Korean state media previously confirmed that Army General Kim Su Gil had replaced Kim Jong Gak as director of the KPA’s General Political Bureau.

The moves are seen by some officials as a way of Kim Jong Un of consolidating his power by installing younger, more capable officers in charge who are totally loyal to him and have the military at the forefront of all of his economic development programs.

Photo: Wikipedia

To read the entire article by Reuters, click here:

South Korean Minister Says Military Option Unacceptable on North Korea

The current debate over North Korea’s nuclear program must be solved diplomatically, South Korea’s foreign minister said on Thursday as she added that any Washington military option should be consulted with her government first if it were to be considered.

“The nuclear issue has to be solved through negotiations and diplomatic endeavors. This idea of a military solution is unacceptable,” Kang Kyung-wha said at a news briefing on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The Trump administration has said all options are on the table in dealing with North Korea, and officials say the president and his advisers have discussed the possibility of a limited strike. But debate on military options has lost some momentum in recent weeks after North and South Korea resumed talks ahead of next month’s Winter Olympics in the South.
“I‘m assured that anything the U.S. administration does on this front is done in close consultation with us,” Kang said.
She declined to comment if Washington had given Seoul clear assurance but added: “This is our fate that is at stake. Any option that is to be taken on the Korean peninsula, cannot be implemented without us going along.”
In an earlier interview with Reuters, Kang said South Korea was prepared for “all contingency scenarios” in case North Korea stages another weapons test, even as the two countries conduct talks and mutual visits relating to the Olympics.
“We go into these discussions with a clear understanding of what might be possible,” Kang said, adding, “another provocation is always a possibility.”

Kang believes that the period for non-engagement with the north has gone on far too long and hopes that the joint Olympics venture will start an era of better dialogue.

To read the entire article from Reuters, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia