North Korea’s Supreme Leader can now be considered in friendly relations with the United States, in part if not a majority of it, because of President Trump.
Recent talks with North Korea on the denuclearizing of their country and formally joining the rest of the world in open talks have ignited hope in everyone opposed to nuclear war. Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un and President Donald J. Trump overseas this week in Vietnam concluded their talks neither giving in to the others demands for the future of North Korea. For many reasons we will unpack, this might not be the worst outcome and in fact lead to a greater relation with North Korea.
One thing to understand about North Korea is its seclusion from the rest of the world; North Korea has had a void in contact with western nations mainly having their interaction with China. This presidency sees a different outcome bringing together President Donald J. Trump and Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un in an unprecedented level of trust for North Korea. In kind they both in Vietnam with enemy leaders in an attempt to bring a better future for their people, and although no agreement has been reached a few key points of progress could indicate the meetings success.
North Korea has not agreed to our proposal and in return asks for a relief of sanctions, imposed to discourage its nuclear progress, without fully denuclearizing their sites. While one could argue the failure of Trump’s meeting, it’s important to note that North Korea will try to retain its pride and strength as a nation; to try to denuclearize a great nation is asking to cleave it in two with its potential strength. To try and force them on this would never have worked out to begin with. Having Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un leave his country to meet the west and offer a major stop on their main nuclear plant, retain friendly relations and still leave smiling is a huge success.
We all agree on the dangers of nuclear warfare and even a single use on humanity will lead to devastation. Although we cannot confirm their nuclear testing and cannot securely say it will ever denuclearize, we can evaluate this to mean the safety of the United States (and maybe the rest of the world) from nuclear warfare with North Korea.
United States President Donald J. Trump has been under scrutiny by the general public (let’s be honest the whole world is watching) since the kickoff of his campaign. While a businessman, father and successful candidate of the presidential election, he has failed to acquire many necessary qualities needed to run the government to support our future generations. That being said, he has upheld himself in these meetings; without giving in to an arguably unreasonable demand, he has retained grace in front of the enemy dictator, and even fostered friendly relations. What could be mistaken for a kindred bond between the two leaders is now the security of the world and President Trump might have been the one key factor in its success.
If you would like to read up on North Korea I would recommend the following from NTI on North Korea’s Nuclear Program.