Trump, Kim sign joint statement promising ‘complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula’

President Trump holds up a document signed by him and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un. (Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ended their historic meeting with a Singapore by signing a joint statement. The document promised “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula” without detailing exactly what that would entail.

“President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong Un conducted a comprehensive, in-depth, and sincere exchange of opinions on the issues related to the establishment of new U.S.-DPRK relatins and the building of a lasting and robust peace regime on the Korean Peninsula,” the statement said.

“President Trump committed to provide security guarantees to the DPRK,” it continued, using the North’s acronym for Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, “and Chairman Kim Jong Un reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”

The pair signed the document at a ceremony where, according to press pool reports, Kim said through a translator that the pair “decided to leave the past behind” and “are about to make a historic change.” 

He also expressed “gratitude” towards Trump for joining the talks. Trump said the pair would be starting the denuclearization process “very quickly” and, in response to shouted questions from reporters, said the pair would “meet many times” in the future.

Their statement described the initial summit as “an epochal event of great significance in overcoming decades of tensions and hostilities between the two countries and for the opening up of a new future.”

Their remarks echoed positive comments they made throughout their hours of meetings at the Singaporean resort of Sentosa Island on Tuesday. 

It was the first meeting between a sitting U.S. president and the leader of North Korea since that country was founded when the Korean Peninsula was divided in 1948 and Kim’s family began its rule. 

For most of the ensuing 70 years, the U.S. has technically been at war with the repressive Kim regime because the Korean War ended with an armistice rather than a formal peace treaty in 1953.

The sight of the two men walking side by side and praising each other before the cameras was a stark contrast to the first year of the Trump administration when the pair regularly exchanged threats as Kim conducted repeated nuclear missile tests and ramped up tensions in the region to their highest level in decades. 

Trump’s road to the summit began late last year, when Kim made a series of overtures to South Korea, a U.S. ally, that culminated in talks between the two neighbors. Kim also made gestures towards the U.S. including the release last month of American detainees that had been held in North Korea.

Despite the optimism Trump and Kim expressed at their meeting, the agreement they signed contained few specifics of how the pair would move towards peace. There was no description of which programs North Korea would have to cease to be considered denuclearized — or how their cooperation would be monitored. 

North Korea and the U.S. do not have formal diplomatic relations. While the statement promised that there would be “new” relations between the two countries, it did not say at what level or provide any information about any potential withdrawal of the stiff sanctions the U.S. has imposed on North Korea.

The joint statement signed by Trump and Kim included four key points. The pair pledged “to establish new US-DPRK relations in accordance with the desire of the peoples of the two countries for peace and prosperity.” 

Trump and Kim promised to “join their efforts to build a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.” Kim reaffirmed a declaration he adopted during his April meetings with South Korea, where he vowed to work with that country on a formal end to the Korean War. 

Last, Trump and Kim said they would cooperate on recovering remains of prisoners of war and soldiers missing in action from that conflict “including the immediate repatriation of those already identified.”

Trump and Kim’s joint statement was not distributed to press at the signing. Perhaps the most concrete outcome of the statement was a commitment to “hold follow up negotiations led by the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and a relevant high-level DPRK official at the earliest possible date.”

Trump and Kim shook hands prior to the latter’s departure Tuesday afternoon. As they bid farewell, Trump responded to shouted questions from reporters. He said they planned to meet “many times.” Trump was also asked if he would invite Kim to the White House.

“Absolutely, I will,” Trump said.
~Yahoo News
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