There is a glimmer of hope that the proposed summit between US President Donald Trump and the Chairman of North Korean State Affairs Commission Kim Jong-Un would take place on June 12 in Singapore, or delayed for some days. This is likely to happen despite poor gamesmanship displayed by the US President; he wrote a letter to Kim on May 24, cancelling the proposed summit.
The new development took place following the surprise second summit held between South Korean President Moon Jae-In and the North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-Un at Panmungak, a North Korean building inside the border village of Panmunjom, on May 27. The South Korean President was escorted by the sister of Kim Jong-Un to the North Korean building. Both the leaders discussed implementation of the Panmunjom Declaration signed on April 27. The meeting took place against the backdrop of huge protest demonstrations in Seoul in front of the US embassy following cancellation of the proposed Trump-Kim summit.
President Trump had cancelled the proposed summit with the North Korean leader on May 24 probably in the search for a face-saving formula; but he also assured the North Korean leader of returning to the negotiating table at an appropriate time if he so desired. South Korean President Moon Jae-In, who just returned to Seoul after holding talks with President Trump in the White House, expressed surprise at the cancellation of the summit talks and reaffirmed that the denuclearization of Korean peninsula and ensuring permanent peace were historic tasks that could not be delayed or forsaken.
There should not be any confusion that the agreement signed by the South Korean President Moon Jae-In and the North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un on April 27 at Panmunjom was meant to denuclearize Korean peninsula.
Ice again started to melt in the Korean Peninsula when North Korea's first Vice-Foreign Minister Kim Kye-Gwan expressed their willingness to sit down face to face with the United States and resolve issues any time and in any format despite negative tendencies in the United States. A flurry of diplomatic activities is now taking place to prepare for the summit in Singapore on scheduled. The US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim, who has extensive experience with the North Korean affairs, is now visiting Pyongyang to finalize details of denuclearization deal with North Korea, while Kim Young Chol, Vice-Chairman of North Korean Workers' Party's Central committee is visiting the USA to discuss details about the proposed summit.
Despite criticisms by some Republican lawmakers about reversal of the summit's cancellation, hope is still there for reaching an agreement with North Korea for dismantling nuclear weapons. If an agreement is signed between the US and North Korea, a new chapter will be ushered in the diplomatic arena after the failure of 30 years of diplomacy. This writer would give credit to the President of South Korea Moon Jae-In for his sagacious efforts to bring peace in the Korean peninsula; he took initiative in holding the summit talks with North Morean Leader Kim which culminated in signing the Panmunjom declaration for peace, prosperity and unification of the Korean Peninsula on April 27 this year.
Mohammad Amjad Hossain, a retired diplomat from Bangladesh, writes from Virginia, USA. [email protected]
© 2024 - All Rights with The Financial Express
