Slammed by the U.S. press for not demanding denulearization more quickly, 54-year-old Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met July 5-6 in Pyongyang to discuss post-summit action on disarmament. Called “regrettable” by North Korean authorities, Pompeo came to Pyongyang with a tough message from 72-year-old President Donald Trump to work on denuclearization as promised in the joint communiqué following the June 12 summit. Before Trump held the summit with Kim, no one in the press believed it was even possible for an American president to meet with the ruthless North Korean dictator. After the summit, the press ripped Trump for not getting enough from Kim in concrete steps toward disarming North Korea’s nukes and ballistic missiles. Now the maddening press blames Pompeo for pushing too hard to get results from the North Korean dictatorship..
U.S. press jumped all over North Korea’s remarks that Pompeo’s actions were “regrettable,” meaning that he asked for too much, too soon. But the press, unable to control its anti-Trump bias, must fabricate any story to prove Trump’s incompetence. Calling Pompeo “robber-like” in his demands, the North Korean News Service [KCNA[ engages in typical hyperbole, feeding the anti-Trump media. What the U.S. media wants in nothing short than total failure by White House, hoping to convince voters before November’s Midterm elections to toss out Republicans. Pompeo’s high-level meetings with North Korea were designed to follow up on the June 12 promise to disarm Kim’s nukes and ballistic missiles. Pompeo made clear that the U.S. would provide zero economic support, until North Korea made good on its promise to dismantle their nukes and ballistic missiles.
North Korean officials told the press that Pompeo pushed too hard, too soon to work on the disarmament promised during the summit. “We expected the U.S. side to come up with constructive measure to help build trust in the spirit of reunion. We’re thinking about doing something corresponding to that,” said North Korea’s Foreign Ministry. “The attitude and the position of the U.S. during the talks was regrettable,” showing the discrepancy between the U.S. and North Korean position. But the press used North Korea’s disappointment as proof of White House incompetence, not North Korea’s reluctance to give up their nukes and ballistic missiles. Calling U.S. demands a “unilateral and strong denuclearization request,” North Korean officials complained about the U.S. not working toward the peace treaty first before making demands to disarm Pyongyang’s nukes and ballistic missiles.
Unable to figure out how to respond, the anti-Trump press can’t contain its political bias in an election years. U.S. press can’t have it both ways: Accusing Trump of not getting Kim to disarm, and, at the same time, blaming the White House for making too many demands. If the press reported accurately, they’d say that Washington and Pyongyang have put their best foot forward to work toward peace. Less than a year ago, North Korea was threatening to hit the U.S. homeland with a nuclear missile. Trump was accused by the press of war-mongering when he threatened Kim with “fire-and-fury” nearly a year ago. One year later and Trump’s working on a peace treaty and nuclear disarmament. Pompeo went back-and-forth with North Korea’s spy chief Kim Yong-choi, discussing how both countries can meet each other’s demands in the context of peacemaking.
Despite the U.S. press calling the talks a failure, North Korea liked the talks, despite feeling the heat. “We did have very serious discussions on very important matters yesterday,” Kim said. “So thinking about those discussions you might have not slept well last night,” admitting that substantive talks took place. Trump’s enemies in the press continue to call Pompeo overly aggressive, off-putting for Kim Jong-un’s taste. Yet, despite the bluster in KCNA’s reporting, both sides are actively involved in serious dialogue, busy working on a peace treaty and all the comes with it. “We never though it was going to be easy,” said State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert,” disputing the press characterization that talks went badly. Unlike former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Pompeo’s not over his head, well in his elements negotiating the terms for meeting Trump’s North Korea policy.
U.S. press continues to characterize everything Trump does as bad, whether at home or in foreign policy. Talking peace with North Korea, once considered unthinkable, is now a reality, despite differences that remain. Engaging North Korea at the peace table is preferable to talking how either U.S. or North Korean ICBMs are about to fly across the Pacific Ocean. Talking about a peace treaty is exactly what both countries need to deal with trust-building measures important to North Korea. While there’s no big announcement yet, both sides are working in good faith to forge a peace agreement. If the U.S. seems overly focused on nuclear disarmament, it’s because the press wants Trump to fulfill his promise of ”complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization.” No one expected that to happen overnight, only to see good-faith efforts to bring it about.
