When the South Korean government announced March 9 that 33-year-old North Korean dictator wanted a face-to-face meeting with 71-year-old President Donald Trump, Wall Street went into rally mode. While markets bottomed out for the near-term, it doesn’t take much bad news to trigger a new sell off. Friday’s whopping 441 gain in the Dow Jones Industrials was more than good news about Friday’s jobs report, adding some 315,000 jobs in February, with unemployment holding steady at 4.1%. More than the economy, the renewed optimism stemmed from the possibility that Trump could pull off what many pundits saw as impossible: Getting Kim to give up his nukes and ballistic missiles. For nearly a year, the rhetoric between Kim and Trump raised the specter of war on the Korean Peninsula, once considered unthinkable until Trump set his line in the sand.
Trump let Kim know that, through Twitter and otherwise, that he would not allow the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea [DPRK] to get an operational nuclear Intercontinental Ballistic Missile [ICBM]. Pushing the world to the brink detonating nukes and firing off ICBMs, Kim faced the most punitive U.N. sanctions in HIS nation’s history. What was different for Kim this time around was China and Russia backed more punitive U.N. sanctions, and, at the same time, putting Kim on notice that he could not expect help if he pushed Trump to attack Pyongyang. Once considered strong allies in the 1953 Korean War, China and Russia have too much at stake in the global economy to back Kim developing nukes and ICBMs. Agreeing to meet with Kim at a yet-to-be announced location, Trump said “I may leave fast” or complete “the greatest deal for the world.”
` Skeptics on both sides of the aisle voiced concerns about the upcoming meeting, warning Trump about Kim’s cunning history, promising the world but delivering on nothing. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson admitted that Trump wanted to meet with Kim for some time to put his cards on the table. South Korea’s Foreign Minister Kang Kyung –wha told the White House that Kim was fully briefed about Trump’s non-negotiable demand for nuclear disarmament. If there weren’t advanced diplomacy letting Kim know that Trump expects complete nuclear disarmament, then no summit would take place. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fl.), a senior member of the Foreign Relations Committee, doubted that any breakthrough would come from Trump’s expected summit. Yet Rubio also knows that Trump would not meet with Kim unless there were strong assurances he would disarm.
Trump tried to play down expectations knowing the high-stakes summitry could have devastating repercussions on world economic markets. Prospects of war on the Korean Peninsula causes Wall Street to sell off, something feared by world financial markets. “Who knows what’s going to happen,” said Trump, fueling the suspense. “I may leave fast or we may sit down and make the greatest deal for the world.” Trump told reporters campaigning in Pennsylvania for House Rep. Rick Saccone, now running for Congress in the 18th district against former marine Conor Lamb. Since Sept. 28, 2017, Kim has not conducted another ICBM test, put on notice by China and Russia that he was on his own confronting Trump. With sanctions making an already battered economy worse, Kim simply can’t afford to confront the U.S. on the Korean Peninsula.
Stopping ICBM tests and nuke detonations since Sept. 28, 2017, Kim sends a clear signal that he’s ready to talk. “North Korea has not conducted a missile test since Sept. 28, 2018 and has promised not to do so through our meeting. I believe they will honor that commitment,” Trump tweeted. Reassuring skeptics, Trump said no meeting would happen unless “concrete actions” were taken regarding dismantling of his nuke and ballistic missile arsenal. Putin said Sept. 5, 2017 that Kim would rather “eat grass” than give up his nukes and ballistic missiles. In less than a year, things have changed for Kim realizing that any confrontation with the U.S. would result in regime change. To preserve his Stalinist grip on North Korea, Kim had no choice but to disarm his nukes and ballistic missile arsenal—caving in to Trump’s threat of U.S. military action.
Going the distance to meet Kim for a last ditch summit, China and Russia know that Trump tried to prevent war on the Korean Peninsula. But one thing Trump won’t do is appease the dictator, allowing Kim to get an operational nuclear ICBM. Chinese President Xi Jinping “told me he appreciates that the U.S. is working to solve the problem diplomatically rather than going with the ominous alternative,” Trump tweeted. “China continues to be helpful,” meaning Kim’s decision to summit with Trump comes from Beijing and Moscow’s continuous pressure. South Korea’s National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong confirmed in direct meetings with Kim that he’s committed to “de-nuclearization.” Whatever Trump’s critics say, his get tough strategy worked, especially prevailing on China and Russia to disarm Kim’s nukes and ballistic missiles.
