When the White House announced yesterday that CIA Director Mike Pompeo had met over Easter with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, the prospects for nuclear disarmament got a lot better. Kim told Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing March 27 that he was ready to relinquish his arsenal of nukes and ballistic missiles as long a China guaranteed his security of North Korea. Xi told Kim that North Korea’s security was contingent on him disbanding his nukes and ballistic missiles. Kim insisted before meeting with Xi that his nukes and long-range ballistic missiles were aimed to prevent a U.S. invasion. Xi pointed out to Kim that there’s been no U.S. invasion since the Korean War ended July 27, 1953 with an armistice, not a peace treaty. Kim recently told South Korean President Moon Jae-in that he was committed to denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula without preconditions.
When Moon and Kim meet in the Demilitarized Zone [Zone] the details have already been worked out concerning North Korea’s nuclear weapons. “I don’t think denuclearization has different meanings for South and North Korea. The North is expressing a will for a complete denuclearization,” Moon said at a meeting with the Korean Media companies. Once thought unthinkable and off-the-table, today’ discussion with Kim could not be more upfront in terms of discussion nuclear disarmament. Pompeo’s meeting with Kim confirms what South Korean officials have been saying all along, that North Korea’s ready to disarm. Trump’s tough talk and global coalition have helped bring Kim to the bargaining table. Unlike when former President Bill Clinton tried to negotiate with the late Kim Jong-Il in 1993, Kim seems ready to play ball with Trump.
While the media plays up the Stormy Daniels scandal, preparations are underway not only to dismantle North Korea’s nuke and ballistic missile programs but to complete a peace treaty, not accomplished at the July 27, 1953 end of the Korean War. “They have not attached any preconditions that the U.S. cannot accept, such as the withdrawal of American troops from South Korea. All they [North Korea] are talking about is the end of hostile policies against North Korea, followed by a guarantee of security,” said Moon. U.S. officials worried that Kim would “bait-and-switch” heading into a summit. Moon assured White House officials that Kim was serious about dismantling his nuke and ballistic missile program in exchange for security and eventual economic assistance. Pompeo’s direct talks with Kim confirms his willingness disarm his nukes and ballistics, something once thought unthinkable.
Trump’s get-tough approach with North Korean forced the international community to heap maximum pressure on Kim to dismantle his nukes and ballistic missiles. Less than a year ago Sept. 2, 2017, Kim detonated what experts believe was a thermonuclear device or hydrogen bomb. Kim followed that up Sept. 15, 2017 shooting an ICBM over Japan, signaling to nuclear experts he was rapidly closing the gap on an operational nuclear-tipped ICBM. Trump put his foot down after Kim’s last ICBM flown over Japan Nov. 28, 2017, warning the reclusive dictator that he would exercise the military option if Kim did not disarm. Most U.S. press reports blamed Trump for provoking the 33-year-old North Korean dictator. German Chancellor Angela Merkel was so rattled by the prospects of war on the Korean Peninsula, she offered Sept. 10, 2017 to mediate the U.S.-North Korean crisis.
With Pompeo a key player negotiating nuclear disarmament with North Korea, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee finds itself under pressure to approve his nomination for Secretary of State. Trump only needs Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) to change his vote to approve Pompeo with the requisite numbers of votes. Trump confirmed yesterday he intends to meet with Kim sometime in late May or early June to nail down a disarmament and peace deal. Kim likes the idea of a peace deal because it wins North Korea the kind of economic backing needed to begin dealing with mass starvation and a stagnant economy. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago golf resort, agreed that maximum pressure had to be applied to North Korea before he signs a disarmament agreement and peace treaty. Getting a peace treaty would be an added bonus to the upcoming summit meeting with Moon.
Moon said if Kim follows up with his promise to allow U.N. Weapons Inspectors to dismantle his nuke and ballistic missile program, Japan would do its part with economic aid. “So first, the South-North Korean summit must make a good beginning and the dialogue between the two Koreas like must continue after we see the results of the North Korea-United States summit,” Moon said. Republicans on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee must be on the same page to back Pompeo, because he’s got a good first start on a disarmament breakthrough with Kim. China’s Foreign Minister Hua Chaunying said Beijing backs peace on the Korean Peninsula. “China supports ending the war state on the Peninsula a an early day,” saying its willing to play an active role in peace efforts on the Peninsula. If Trump pulls off disarmament and a peace deal, the Russian collusion probe will seem irrelevant.
