Issue 141 (May - June)

D onald Trump’s devoted rah-rah crowds believe their idol deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for his bellicose “fire and fury” tweets and economic sanctions, which they believe are responsible for dragging Mr Kim to the peace table. Certainly, the North Korean leadership has been further isolated and squeezed economically but without Beijing’s willingness to comply with crippling UN sanctions imposed on Pyongyang, suspending coal imports and limiting exports of crude and refined petroleum, North Korea would not have felt the pinch. I would argue that if there is any prize forthcoming it should go to the leaders of the two Koreas, who laid the groundwork for détente in the weeks prior to the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics in which North Korean athletes participated watched by high North Korean officials as well as Kim Jong- un’s photogenic younger sister. It is worth recalling that Trump was irritated by the efforts of South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in to reach out to his North Korean counterpart. “South Korea is finding, as I have told them, that their talk of appeasement with North Korea will not work, they only understand one thing!” he tweeted. Moreover, he threatened to pull the US out of a bilateral Free Trade Agreement with South Korea. That tentative Olympic diplomacy culminated in a historic meeting between the two leaders held at the Demilitarised Zone’s Peace House. They greeted one another like brothers. Smiles, hand-holding and hugs were in abundance. Kim was invited to step across the demarcation line onto the soil of a hitherto enemy nation upon which no North Korean leader had stood for 64 years when an armistice agreement was signed to silence the guns on a nation divided. But without a peace treaty a technical state of war prevailed separating family members and heightening tensions. There is many a slip between cup and lip, but it was evident by the Panmunjom Declaration signed by both men, that they sincerely welcome a new era of national reconciliation, peace and prosperity with a view to unifying as one Korean nation in a completely denuclearized peninsula. So far so good, but realistically speaking, persuading Kim Jong-un to relinquish his pride and joy, his nuclear deterrent, is a whole different kettle of fish. Yes, he says he is ready to negotiate with Mr Trump without preconditions. Yes, he says his nuclear capability will be on the table and to show goodwill he has pledged to close his nuclear test site. Yes, he has reportedly revealed to his South Korean counterpart that he is prepared to abandon his nuclear program on condition the US pledges to officially p. 9