 US President Donald Trump and DPRK Chairman Kim Jong-un at the 2nd summit in Hanoi on Feb 27-28, 2019.
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International observers said the 2nd DPRK-USA summit eased tensions and paved the way for further negotiations.
Many reasons for optimism
Prior to the summit, many people predicted that it would be difficult to make a breakthrough. 4 previous US Presidents have sought an end to the DPRK’s nuclear program. The 2nd summit between President Donald Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-un was not a set-back. It achieved promising results.
First, Chairman Kim expressed his intent to commit to a permanent halt of nuclear and long-range rocket testing to accelerate the process of denuclearization. President Trump said the US will stop large-scale military exercises with the Republic of Korea and not increase sanctions. Two days after the summit, the RoK and the US said they will scale down joint military drills to ease tensions and support the diplomatic effort to reach complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. This is progress, as US-RoK joint military exercises have always provoked a backlash from DPRK.
The 2nd summit took place in a friendly and respectful manner. Over the past 20 years under 4 US Presidents, negotiations have been at a standstill. It’s unrealistic to expect a sudden breakthrough as the two sides have been conducting high-level negotiations for just 8 months since the 1st summit in Singapore last June.
At the 2nd summit, both sides sought to hold open the door for further negotiations. Promising to meet again, Chairman Kim praised President Trump’s effort to achieve a result and said the dialogues were positive. Trump said Washington wants a further dialogue with Pyongyang.
Trust will bring results
Trust building is an important factor for success. By agreeing to meet again to resolve differences and reaffirm their good personal relationship and mutual respect, the two leaders have laid a foundation for further negotiations. If both sides continue to nurture trust and work to resolve problems, they are likely to reach an agreement.