“China and North Korea want the U.S. to withdraw its base in South Korea and recall 40,000 of its army. China and North Korea are asking for total denuclearization of the entire Korean Peninsula, including B-52 nuclear equipped bombers in South Korea. The U.S. could save by withdrawing, provided North Korea fully complies”, says the author.
The Korean War ended in the Armistice Agreement of 1953. This Agreement was made possible because V. K. Krishna Menon’s proposal for the repatriation of prisoners belonging to different countries was accepted by the United Nations. President Eisenhower acknowledged and thanked India for its positive contribution that ended the Korean war.
President Trump deserves credit for his statesmanship and courage in negotiating with North Korean leader Kim-Jong-Un. This is made possible only because Ambassador Nikki Haley was able to convince China and Russia to vote for the severest sanctions against North Korea. Nobody knows why China changed its policy and decided to support the USA against its client State, North Korea. It must be pointed out that after the severest sanctions, North Korea has had no choice but to depend on China for its existence and political support. This is the reason Kim-Jong-Un made a private trip to Beijing by train before taking the initiative to seek a summit meeting with Trump. He also had meeting with Chinese leader Xi, after Trump canceled the meeting. Does this not show that China is more interested in getting along with Trump, and therefore, was prepared to be tough on North Korea? What are China’s goals?
China and North Korea want the U.S. to withdraw its base in South Korea and recall 40,000 of its army. China and North Korea are asking for total denuclearization of the entire Korean Peninsula, including B-52 nuclear equipped bombers in South Korea. The U.S. could save by withdrawing, provided North Korea fully complies. The U.S. Naval power and airpower are second to none and because of the latest and sophisticated technology, the U.S. can win wars without a land base.
North Korea cannot afford to be the victim of the severest sanctions. North Korea is interested in economic development. Therefore, North Korea is trying to demonstrate that it can be trusted by destroying the nuclear test sites in front of the world media. Kim also created goodwill by releasing the U.S. prisoners. When Trump cancelled the June 12 Summit, Kim reacted positively. To prove, Kim of North Korea and Moon of South Korea met again, and the world saw mutual embrace and goodwill.
South Korea also seems to be more enthusiastic and positive about making sure the Summit takes place. Towards this end, Moon has been applying diplomatic pressure on Trump and the U.S. Secretary of State.
Trump has reiterated that the U.S. will not remove sanctions until North Korea is ready and willing to denuclearize North Korea first with international inspection control. Trump has also said that the US will be happy to help North Korea’s economy.
So far, Moon and Kim have demonstrated to the world that they are interested in ending the war and signing a peace accord with the approval of the US and China. Reunification of Koreas is also a possibility in the future as happened with the Germanys.
Japan was almost defenseless when North Korea dared to test its missiles over Japanese airspace. Japan is also interested in denuclearization of North Korea.
As of now, it appears that the historic Summit may take place on June 12, 2018 in Singapore, based on President Trump’s decision. Trump is a tough negotiator. He has decided to go for the Summit after calling it off. This is only because he could feel the goodwill generated by South Korea, North Korea and China. Preparations are going on and the diplomatic intercourse is heavy between Beijing, Pyongyang, Seoul and Washington.
President Trump said that he was willing to take the risk for the sake of peace of the Koreas and the world. If indeed the Summit takes place in Singapore as scheduled, Trump will be cheered by the world. ” Presidents Bill Clinton, George W Bush, and Obama tried and failed, but Trump succeeded” will be the headline of the world media on the 12th June.
This is a great and golden opportunity for Kim-Jong-Un of North Korea to create trust and demonstrate that he really wants peace. So far, Trump has succeeded in changing the attitude of Kim, who has been uncompromising. It is heartening to note that Kim changed though he was provoked by John Bolten, National Security Adviser and the remarks by the US Vice President.
(The author, a 64-year resident of the USA is a Diplomat-in-Residence and Senior Adviser for the New Delhi Think Tank, Imagindia Institute. He resides in New York, and can be reached at vpwaren@gmail.com)