Much ado

There is no doubt that history was made after Donald Trump became the first US president to step on North Korean soil. The third installment of the Trump-Kim story made for better optics as the two stood in the de-militarised zone, but there is little real progress between the two countries. While some of the criticism has focused on how Trump was giving legitimacy to a brutal dictator, the bigger issue is that Trump has refused to get off his high horse when dealing with North Korea. The entire affair has seemed to be the coming together of two bloated egos in awe of each other – but also trying to show their own self as the bigger man. The North Korean media described the summit as ‘amazing.’ While this was a moment choreographed for TV, the reality is that the meeting only resulted in a rather dull agreement to continue nuclear talks at a working-level.

Trump has set the bar for progress on North Korea so low that pure optical illusions are enough. It was Trump himself that heightened tensions between North Korea and the US. His only achievement has been cooling them down to the level they were before he became president. The situation is almost comical. Trump’s gimmickry has only strengthened the position of Kim Jong-un, who just received Chinese President Xi Jinping, a first in 15 years. South Korea has little choice but to play along in this drama. It has little autonomy to pursue its own policy with the shadow of the US cast over it. What has been forgotten are the two key issues at stake – denuclearisation and sanctions relief. One must wonder how Trump will respond to the obvious cynicism from US political observers. Talks that go nowhere could lead to another moment where Trump might show aggression in the face of North Korea’s reluctance. North Korea knows it has only one bargaining chip: its nuclear programme. There is little doubt that North Korea will keep holding on to it for as long as possible, which means that the US will have to accept it is negotiating with a nuclear-armed North Korea. Will this be enough of a win for Trump? One can only know once the gimmickry stops.