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| US to suspend military exercises with South Korea, Trump says | US to suspend military exercises with South Korea, Trump says |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The US has agreed to suspend military exercises with South Korea in return for a commitment to denuclearisation from North Korea, Donald Trump has announced after a meeting with Kim Jong-un in Singapore. | |
| Trump said the war games were expensive and “very provocative”. Stopping them represents a major concession, something the US has previously rejected as non-negotiable on the grounds that the exercises are a key element of its military alliance with Seoul, and of maintaining a deterrent against North Korea. | Trump said the war games were expensive and “very provocative”. Stopping them represents a major concession, something the US has previously rejected as non-negotiable on the grounds that the exercises are a key element of its military alliance with Seoul, and of maintaining a deterrent against North Korea. |
| Trump said that, in return, Kim had agreed in a joint statement to reassert “his firm and unwavering commitment to complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula”. | Trump said that, in return, Kim had agreed in a joint statement to reassert “his firm and unwavering commitment to complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula”. |
| However, that commitment was vaguely worded. A later paragraph in the statement signed by both leaders said only that North Korea “commits to work toward complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula”, without defining what that meant. | |
| Denuclearisation is the longstanding policy of the Pyongyang regime, but the regime interprets this as being an open-ended, gradual process in which other nuclear powers will also disarm. | |
| Both the South Korean government and US forces in the region appear to have been taken by surprise by Trump’s declared suspension of joint military exercises. | |
| US forces in Korea said they had not received updated guidance on military exercises. “In coordination with our ROK [Republic of Korea] partners, we will continue with our current military posture until we receive updated guidance,” a spokesperson told Reuters. | |
| The South Korean military issued a statement to NBC News saying: “Regarding President Trump’s comment regarding ending of the combined military drills … we need to find out the exact meaning or intention behind his comments at this point.” | |
| Military officials from both countries, including the US defence secretary, James Mattis, had vigorously opposed curtailing joint military exercises, on the grounds that doing so would undermine both the alliance and its deterrent against North Korean aggression. | |
| ‘I am here one day’ | |
| Missing from the joint statement was the definition, promoted up until now by the Trump administration, of “complete, verifiable, irreversible dismantlement”. Asked at a press conference why those terms were missing, Trump said: “There was no time. I am here one day.” | Missing from the joint statement was the definition, promoted up until now by the Trump administration, of “complete, verifiable, irreversible dismantlement”. Asked at a press conference why those terms were missing, Trump said: “There was no time. I am here one day.” |
| He insisted he believed Kim was determined to disarm, adding that at the end of the summit the North Korean leader had offered to destroy an engine testing site that is part of the country’s missile programme. | |
| Trump said he accepted that dismantling North Korea’s nuclear arsenal would take a long time, but it would be carried out “as fast as it can be done scientifically, as fast it can it be done mechanically”. | Trump said he accepted that dismantling North Korea’s nuclear arsenal would take a long time, but it would be carried out “as fast as it can be done scientifically, as fast it can it be done mechanically”. |
| The language on disarmament in the statement was similar to that of previous agreements, in 1994 and 2005, which ultimately collapsed amid differences over interpretation and arguments about verification. | The language on disarmament in the statement was similar to that of previous agreements, in 1994 and 2005, which ultimately collapsed amid differences over interpretation and arguments about verification. |
| Asked how he could ensure Kim’s undertakings would be any more solid, the president replied: “Can you ensure anything? You can’t ensure anything.” | Asked how he could ensure Kim’s undertakings would be any more solid, the president replied: “Can you ensure anything? You can’t ensure anything.” |
| But he added: “I just feel very strongly – my instincts, my ability, my talent – that they want to make a deal.” | But he added: “I just feel very strongly – my instincts, my ability, my talent – that they want to make a deal.” |
| Trump said Tuesday’s summit would be followed next week by more negotiations between US and North Korean officials to work out the details of the agreement. | Trump said Tuesday’s summit would be followed next week by more negotiations between US and North Korean officials to work out the details of the agreement. |
| Before his press conference, reporters were shown a video that Trump said he had played to Kim and his aides towards the end of their talks. The video was made by Destiny Productions and was presented in Korean and English in the style of an action movie trailer. | Before his press conference, reporters were shown a video that Trump said he had played to Kim and his aides towards the end of their talks. The video was made by Destiny Productions and was presented in Korean and English in the style of an action movie trailer. |
| It sought to illustrate alternative futures for North Korea: one a bright, colourful world of scientific progress and happiness; the other, a monotone world full of weaponry accompanied by ominous music. Only one person could choose between these two destinies, the film’s narrator said. | It sought to illustrate alternative futures for North Korea: one a bright, colourful world of scientific progress and happiness; the other, a monotone world full of weaponry accompanied by ominous music. Only one person could choose between these two destinies, the film’s narrator said. |
| The joint statement, signed after five hours of talks, laid out a basic bargain. “President Trump committed to provide security guarantees to the DPRK, and Chairman Kim Jong-un reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula,” it read. | The joint statement, signed after five hours of talks, laid out a basic bargain. “President Trump committed to provide security guarantees to the DPRK, and Chairman Kim Jong-un reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula,” it read. |
| However, while Washington is pushing for complete disarmament as quickly as possible, Pyongyang wants an open-ended process of negotiation in which it is treated as an equal. | However, while Washington is pushing for complete disarmament as quickly as possible, Pyongyang wants an open-ended process of negotiation in which it is treated as an equal. |
| Beatrice Fihn, the head of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (Ican), said in a tweet: “We support diplomacy and peaceful solutions. But there is no agreement on nuclear disarmament and this all looked more like a big welcome party to the nuclear-armed club.” | Beatrice Fihn, the head of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (Ican), said in a tweet: “We support diplomacy and peaceful solutions. But there is no agreement on nuclear disarmament and this all looked more like a big welcome party to the nuclear-armed club.” |
| Kim also undertook to cooperate with the US in the recovery of remains of US soldiers killed in the Korean war, a longstanding US request that has so far produced only limited assistance. | Kim also undertook to cooperate with the US in the recovery of remains of US soldiers killed in the Korean war, a longstanding US request that has so far produced only limited assistance. |
| During the two leaders’ public exchanges, just a few months after the pair had exchanged insults and threatened imminent war, they went out of their way to be gracious. Trump even declared it an “honour” to be sitting next to Kim. | |
| At the start of the first meeting between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader, the pair walked towards each other and shook hands, then turned unsmiling towards the cameras. Trump appeared to be speaking to Kim throughout the 12 seconds of their handshake. Kim could be heard replying in English: “I’m very happy to meet you in Singapore,” as the US president patted his arm. | At the start of the first meeting between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader, the pair walked towards each other and shook hands, then turned unsmiling towards the cameras. Trump appeared to be speaking to Kim throughout the 12 seconds of their handshake. Kim could be heard replying in English: “I’m very happy to meet you in Singapore,” as the US president patted his arm. |
| For both men, the high-stakes encounter was the most consequential meeting of their lives, addressing the future of North Korea’s nuclear arsenal and a peace agreement to end the precarious and tense 65-year limbo that has endured since the Korean war. | |
| North and South Korea have been divided since the end of the Korean War (1950-53), and except for about a decade ending in 2008, relations between the two have remained frosty. The two nations technically remain in a state of war, since a peace treaty was never signed. There have been occasional outbreaks of violence, most recently in 2010 when 50 people were killed when a South Korean navy corvette was sunk and several islands close to the border were attacked. | North and South Korea have been divided since the end of the Korean War (1950-53), and except for about a decade ending in 2008, relations between the two have remained frosty. The two nations technically remain in a state of war, since a peace treaty was never signed. There have been occasional outbreaks of violence, most recently in 2010 when 50 people were killed when a South Korean navy corvette was sunk and several islands close to the border were attacked. |
| This meeting could touch on a formal truce but this is also not the first time North Korea has expressed a willingness to abandon its nuclear ambitions. A deal with the US, Japan and South Korea in the 1990s was meant to give the North civilian nuclear power without the ability to build a weapon, but the reactor was never finished. | This meeting could touch on a formal truce but this is also not the first time North Korea has expressed a willingness to abandon its nuclear ambitions. A deal with the US, Japan and South Korea in the 1990s was meant to give the North civilian nuclear power without the ability to build a weapon, but the reactor was never finished. |
| North Korea pledged to relinquish its nuclear programme in 2007 in exchange for sanctions relief and fuel, but later pulled out of that agreement and expelled inspectors in 2009. | North Korea pledged to relinquish its nuclear programme in 2007 in exchange for sanctions relief and fuel, but later pulled out of that agreement and expelled inspectors in 2009. |
| Read a full explainer on the Korea summit here | Read a full explainer on the Korea summit here |
| Even before they had left their separate hotels and driven to the summit venue, Trump used Twitter to claim victory and hit back at his critics. | Even before they had left their separate hotels and driven to the summit venue, Trump used Twitter to claim victory and hit back at his critics. |
| “The fact that I am having a meeting is a major loss for the U.S., say the haters & losers,” Trump wrote. “We have our hostages, testing, research and all missle [sic] launches have stoped [sic], and these pundits, who have called me wrong from the beginning, have nothing else they can say! We will be fine!” | “The fact that I am having a meeting is a major loss for the U.S., say the haters & losers,” Trump wrote. “We have our hostages, testing, research and all missle [sic] launches have stoped [sic], and these pundits, who have called me wrong from the beginning, have nothing else they can say! We will be fine!” |
| The Pyongyang regime is believed to have at least two dozen warheads, including a thermo-nuclear bomb, and is close to building an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of delivering a warhead to the US mainland. | The Pyongyang regime is believed to have at least two dozen warheads, including a thermo-nuclear bomb, and is close to building an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of delivering a warhead to the US mainland. |
| Kim declared in the new year that the regime had completed its mission to build a nuclear deterrent, and since then has suspended nuclear and missile tests. Negotiations to hold the summit began in March, brokered by the South Korean government. | Kim declared in the new year that the regime had completed its mission to build a nuclear deterrent, and since then has suspended nuclear and missile tests. Negotiations to hold the summit began in March, brokered by the South Korean government. |
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