Tag: Donald Trump

I wonder if Dennis Rodman will be invited to Mar-a-Lago as well?  Could you imagine President Trump, Kim Jong-un, and Dennis Rodman all playing golf together?:

U.S. President Donald Trump is reportedly toying with the idea of offering North Korean leader Kim Jong-un a second summit at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, possibly in the fall if the first bilateral summit goes smoothly next week.

Citing several U.S. government officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity, Bloomberg reported Wednesday that the White House wants Kim to commit to a timetable to surrender his country’s nuclear arsenal when they meet next Tuesday in Singapore, and that Trump has been advised not to offer Kim any concessions.

If the two men “hit it off,” the White House chief could suggest a second face-to-face meeting at his resort in the southern state of Florida, said the report, without further explanation. No North Korean leader has ever set foot in the United States. Kim has made only three known foreign trips so far since assuming power in December 2011, twice to China and once to South Korea.

“There could be more than one meeting, more than one conversation” between Kim and Trump, said Kellyanne Conway, Trump’s counselor. A nuclear deal, she continued, may take “two, three, four, five” meetings.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link.

It looks like the venue for the Trump-Kim summit has finally been locked in:

The Capella Hotel on Singapore’s resort island of Sentosa was named the venue for next week’s historic summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un by the White House on Wednesday.

The much-anticipated summit is scheduled for 9 a.m. local time on June 12, and the announcement of the venue comes after U.S. and North Korean logistics teams scoured the Southeast Asian city-state last week for an optimal location.

After revealing the time of the meeting on Monday, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, tweeted: “UPDATE: The venue for the Singapore summit between @POTUS [the president of the United States] and Leader Kim Jong Un will be the Capella Hotel on Sentosa Island. We thank our great Singaporean hosts for their hospitality.”  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

I am still wondering who is picking up Kim Jong-un’s hotel bill since the US State Department says they aren’t paying for it:

The U.S. State Department addressed speculation about who is paying for the North Koreans’ stay in Singapore. Heather Nauert, spokesperson of the State Department, on Tuesday said, “The United States government is not paying for the North Korean delegation to stay” in Singapore, adding that it is not “paying for their expenses.”

I am glad to see that the State Department is not giving in to the demands to pay for Kim’s hotel bill.  I wonder if the South Koreans will end up getting stuck with Kim’s hotel bill?

Here is the latest development on the Trump-Kim summit in Singapore:

President Moon Jae-in will join North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump in Singapore next week to declare an end to the Korean War, which has technically been running for 68 years, according to a diplomatic source.

“Preparations are already underway for President Moon to declare a formal end to the Korean War with the two leaders on June 12, the date of the North-U.S. summit, or the next day on the 13th,” said the source, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

“Singapore has already begun preparations to host President Moon [for a trilateral meeting].”

If realized, the three leaders standing together to declare the Korean War’s end will certainly be a charged symbolic moment, but it will not have legal force.  (…………)

Expectations of a declaration to end the Korean War arose after Trump’s remarks early Saturday, when he said signing of a statement to end it would be “very important,” after a meeting with Kim Yong-chol, vice chairman of the North Korean Workers’ Party’s Central Committee, who delivered a letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

“We talked about ending the war,” Trump said on the south lawn after Kim Yong-chol left the White House. “And you know, this war has been going on – it’s got to be the longest war – almost 70 years, right? And there is a possibility of something like that.

“Can you believe that we’re talking about the ending of the Korean War?” he continued. “You’re talking about 70 years.”

He said the declaration will be “more of a signing of a document,” and “very important.”  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read much more at the link, but is it just me or does it seem like President Moon was very eager to once again get the spotlight on him by forcing his way into this summit?

Anyway the so called into the Korean War won’t really be an end because the United Nations Armistice Command and China will also have to agree to the end of the Korean War to make it official.  This will allow President Trump to easily back out on this declaration at a later date if the Kim regime does not live up to whatever commitments they are prepared to make.

The Butcher of the Cheonan recently met with President Trump and all indications are that the meeting went very well:

U.S. President Donald Trump has confirmed his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will take place in Singapore on June 12th.

His announcement came after he met with senior North Korean official Kim Yong-chol at the White House on Friday, local time.

He said the “big deal” will be on June 12th and that he believes the North Korean leader is committed to denuclearization.

Trump also said the issue of formally ending the Korean War will be on the table.

He explained he no longer wants to use the term “maximum pressure” on North Korea and looks forward to the day sanctions can be lifted.

Trump said there were “hundreds of new sanctions ready to go on” but they won’t be imposed “until such time as the talks break down.”

Kim Yong-chol, vice chairman of the North Korean ruling party’s central committee, visited the White House as Kim Jong-un’s special envoy and delivered Kim’s letter to Trump.  [KBS World Radio]

You can read more at the link, but for those that don’t know Kim Yong-chol is the guy that Kim Jong-un trusts the most to do his dirty work.  I actually listened to Trump’s press conference and wonder what was in Kim Jong-un’s letter that Kim Yong-chol delivered?  I wonder because President Trump alluded to during the press conference how “the subject matter was very interesting” in the letter that he ended up having a two hour conversation with Kim Yong-chol about.  You can see the press conference below:

Tomorrow’s @nypost front page. pic.twitter.com/6iLbPN7mj2

— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) May 31, 2018

According President Moon, Kim Jong-un is committed to denuclearizing:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has reaffirmed his willingness to denuclearize and hold a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Sunday.

“Chairman Kim Jong-un has once again clearly expressed his commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula following his pledge in the Panmunjom Declaration and expressed his willingness to end the history of war and confrontation through the success of the North Korea-U.S. summit,” Moon said of his latest summit with the North Korean leader held Saturday.

“We two leaders agreed the June 12 North Korea-U.S. summit must be successfully held,” he told a nationally televised press conference.

The latest inter-Korean summit was held on the North Korean side of Panmunjom, a border village that sits directly on the Military Demarcation Line that divides the two Koreas. The first Moon-Kim summit was held on the South Korean side of Panmunjom on April 27.

Trump on Thursday (Washington time) called off his scheduled summit with Kim, citing the North’s tremendous anger and open hostility, only to suggest later the meeting would go ahead as planned.

“While explaining the outcome of my summit with U.S. President Trump held last week, I relayed the message that President Trump is firmly willing to end his country’s hostile relationship with North Korea and enhance economic cooperation should Chairman Kim make a decision on complete denuclearization and implements it,” Moon said.

The South Korean president visited Washington on Monday-Wednesday. He said his surprise meeting with Kim came at a suggestion from the North Korean leader, who on Friday expressed hope to meet for candid dialogue.

“Also, as both Chairman Kim and President Trump sincerely wish for the success of the North-U.S. summit, I stressed the need for the two sides to remove any misunderstanding through direct communication and to hold enough dialogue on agenda issues that need to be addressed at their summit,” President Moon said, adding, “Chairman Kim also agreed.” (……..)

“Chairman Kim Jong-un once again clearly affirmed that his commitment to complete denuclearization remains firm yesterday. What remains uncertain to Chairman Kim Jong-un is whether he can trust the U.S. promise to end their hostile relationship and guarantee North Korea’s security once the North denuclearizes,” the president added.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but if Kim Jong-un wants to ensure a deal stays in place then he needs to have President Trump ratify a treaty with the Senate.  If a deal is struck that is not ratified by the Senate then the next President can come in and not follow it.  That is what President Trump did with the Iran deal.  It would be interesting though in an election year for Congress how they would approach the ratification of a treaty with North Korea.

Moon kept the White House out of the loop before making agreements with North Korea that have major alliance implications.https://t.co/BCf45NOKF9
He's also trying to undercut US policy & UN sanctions.https://t.co/mkaAiBNsOY
He's in no position to complain. https://t.co/5an3k7aEU5

— Joshua Stanton (@freekorea_us) May 25, 2018

A protester holds a banner that says, “Trump jeopardizes peace on the Korean Peninsula,” during a rally in front of the U.S. Embassy in Seoul on May 25, 2018, to criticize the U.S. government and call for a summit with North Korea as scheduled. On May 24, U.S. President Donald Trump called off his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un scheduled for June 12, citing the North’s “tremendous anger and open hostility.” (Yonhap)

This is a bit of a slap in the face of Moon Jae-in that the Trump administration did not trust telling him of the upcoming summit cancellation:

Washington did not inform Seoul of its decision to call off its planned summit with North Korea until it was reported by media.

A high-ranking official of South Korea’s presidential office said the U.S. government notified Seoul of its move almost at the same time when it was announced to the public.

The White House was known to have first informed South Korean Ambassador to the U.S. Cho Yoon-je, who then delivered the news to the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae.

According to American media outlets, the U.S. government began discussing the possibility of canceling the U.S.-North Korea summit Wednesday night local time.

The South Korean official said there were no advance discussions on the matter between Seoul and Washington.  [KBS World News]

President Trump has completely flipped the script on the Kim regime.  The North Koreans are used to being the ones canceling talks and making the other parties make concessions to get them to come back:

President Donald Trump called off his summit with Kim Jong-un on Thursday after North Korea hurled insults at Vice President Mike Pence.

Trump said it would be ‘inappropriate’ to hold talks at this time after the Kim regime again tested the limits of his patience.

‘You talk about your nuclear capabilities, but ours are so massive and powerful that I pray to God they will never be used,’ he said in a letter to Kim that the White House distributed.

North Korea‘s vice foreign minister had slammed Pence for his ‘unbridled and impudent remarks that North Korea might end like Libya.’

Choe Son Hui also said the future of the summit between Pyongyang and Washington is ‘entirely’ up to the United States, as she condemned an interview Pence gave to Fox News.

Trump said in his letter to Kim that as a result of the ‘tremendous anger and open hostility’ demonstrated by North Korea in the latest back and forth, he was pulling out of the June 12 meeting to discuss Pyongyang’s nuclear program.

‘I feel it is inappropriate, at this time, to have this long-planned meeting,’ Trump said hours after North Korea publicly destroyed much of its Punggye-ri nuclear test site. ‘Therefore, please let this letter serve to represent that the Singapore summit, for the good of both parties, but to the detriment of the world, will not take place.’

The U.S. president went on to say that he hopes to meet Kim one day and that the good dialogue that was building up between the two nations prior to the recent provocations remains promising.

Trump’s letter to Kim followed a string of threats from the North to call off the summit that had been brokered to discuss a commitment to denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

The president told DailyMail.com on Wednesday that he’d know whether he was moving forward with the Singapore summit ‘next week.’ That was before North Korea’s latest volley, which included the assault on Pence.

‘We will neither beg the U.S. for dialogue nor take the trouble to persuade them if they do not want to sit together with us,’ said Choe Son Hui, according to a report by North Korea’s central news agency on Thursday.

She added: ‘I cannot suppress my surprise at such ignorant and stupid remarks gushing out from the mouth of the US vice-president.  [Daily Mail]

You can read more at the link, but here is the letter that President Trump sent to Kim Jong-un:

I look at this as not being a cancellation of the talks, but instead part of the ongoing negotiations.  The Trump administration has put North Korea in its place by reminding them who they are and who they are dealing with; thus the description in the difference in nuclear capabilities in the letter.  I also think the message being sent is that the United States will not be pushed around by the North Koreans and they should be respectful towards the Trump administration and thankful for the opportunity to meet with the US President.  This is especially true considering President Trump has made very respectful remarks towards Kim Jong-un and even the cancellation letter is extremely polite towards Kim Jong-un.

We are about to see how serious the Kim regime is about holding these talks and reaching a denuclearization deal because the ball is now officially in their court.  President Trump’s letter leaves it very open for a future meeting if the Kim regime changes its tone.  If they apologize for the remarks towards Vice President Pence that is a signal that they really do want a deal.  However, if they begin another launch cycle or execute a provocation of some kind then that is a sign they were never serious about these talks in the first place.

However, it was good to see that for once the United States got something out of North Korea, the release  of the three American detainees for little to nothing in return.  It is usually the other way around where the US and South Korea makes concessions to North Korea for little to nothing in return.  Once again President Trump has flipped the script on the Kim regime.  It will be interesting to see how the North Koreans respond.