The Trump-Kim summit is scheduled for Tuesday morning 12 June, with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump having arrived in Singapore over the weekend. Trump has signalled that the summit could collapse within minutes or stretch into further meetings. He also said that the meeting could pave the way toward a “new era of prosperity, security and peace”, but he is also “totally prepared to walk away” (Bloomberg, 10 Jun).

Stakes Are High at Historic Summit

According to an article on Bloomberg (10 Jun), Trump is about to see whether Kim’s desire to end North Korea’s economic strangulation and pariah status will prevail over the latter’s fear of relinquishing his nuclear threat. Trump and Kim have yet to agree on how to define denuclearization of North Korea, which is the stated goal of the meeting.

Further according to the Bloomberg article, Trump wants the complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantling of Kim’s nuclear weapons program, whereas North Korea is seeking a security guarantee, which could include a peace treaty ending the Korean War, and the removal of the U.S. nuclear umbrella protecting South Korea and Japan.

The U.S. is counting on the pain of current sanctions and the threat of more, combined with the possibility of international acceptance and even financial support, to push Kim toward a deal. Kim had earlier rejected calls to give up his weapons in return of economic aid, but had instead proposed a step-by-step denuclearization process.

Source: Macquarie Research - 11 Jun 2018