The Singapore Summit is over. Who won and who lost?
First, the all-important atmospherics:
Most important for both, Trump and Kim got their photo op:
Trump took care of his base, railing before the summit against the (always) unidentified "haters and losers."
And, after the summit, he managed to fawn all over Kim and even to call Chinese dictator Xi "a very special person."
What did the United States get and what did North Korea get?
What the U.S. Got
1. An agreement to recover POW/MIA remains and repatriate those already identified.
Comment: a worthy goal, but at what cost?
2. An agreement to "commit to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."
Comment: a worthy goal, but:
a."work toward": at best, an unenforceable agreement to agree
b. no mention of "irreversibility."
c. removal of U.S. nuclear weapons from S. Korea?
Comment: a worthy goal, but:
a. what does it mean?
b. how will it be achieved?
c. where does it leave South Korea?
d. where does it leave the North Korean people?
e. "lasting and stable" are key words for the Kim family.
4. An agreement to "commit to establish new U.S.–DPRK relations in accordance with the desire of the peoples of the two countries for peace and prosperity."
Comment: a worthy goal, but:
a. what does it mean?
b. how will it be achieved?
c. where does it leave South Korea?
d. do the North Koreans deserve only peace and prosperity?
d. no mention of "freedom" or "liberty"
What North Korea Got
1. The U.S. agreed to call off what Trump called "inappropriate," "very provocative" "war games"--joint military exercises with South Korea.
1. The U.S. agreed to call off what Trump called "inappropriate," "very provocative" "war games"--joint military exercises with South Korea.
Comment: a "huge" concession by the U.S.
a. These "war games" have served to remind
North Korea of the U.S.' commitment
to defend South Korea, a major U.S. ally.
b. This has been a major North Korean goal for decades.
c. where does it leave South Korea?
2. The U.S. gave North Korea--and the Kim family dynasty--important legitimatization:
The big winners: Kim and his clique.
The next big winners:
Russia, because Trump can't stop scratching that itch and it thrives when the U.S. creates disunity among its allies,
and China (which can now return to trading with North Korea and whose Communist Party chief, Xi, got a nice plug).
The big loser: South Korea.
The third biggest winner: those who own the royalty rights to Dusty Springfield's 1964 hit, Wishin' and Hopin'. Copyright 1969, Blue Seas Music, Inc. & KAC Music Co., Inc.
