싱가포르 회담의 Post-Mortem : ‘흥정꾼’과 ‘사기꾼’의 한판 대결인가

The Singapore Summit : “The Art of the Deal” vs “The Art of Deceit”

The decades-long confrontation between North Korea and the international community over North Korea’s nuclear and ICBM program is shrouded in uncertainty after summit talks between US President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un, North Korea s third-generation tyrant. Gone is Washington’s long-avowed commitment to CVID (complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement) of North Korea’s nuclear and ICBM programs. The US and North Korea are, instead, on the threshold of a new commitment to “working toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.” Trump declared upon landing in Washington after the summit that he had all but resolved “America’s biggest and most dangerous problem,” alleging that there was “no longer a nuclear threat from North Korea.” Trump was instead the reincarnation of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, who claimed that he had delivered “peace in our time” after reaching agreement with Adolf Hitler. Less than a year later, Hitler began World War II by invading Poland. The Singapore agreement looks set to share as similar fate as Kim Jong Un is busy mending fences with China and suing for additional concessions from both the US and South Korea, after securing such spoils as suspended ROK-US joint exercises and rapid expansion of inter-Korean interactions even before entering into talks with the US on ways for a “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.” There appears to be a consensus among observers that Washington and Pyongyang will find themselves wide apart on how to handle the “inspection” issue, among others. As uncertainties mount, there is mystification over why Trump made this about-face in talks with Kim, backpedaling not only from his commitment to CVID and his readiness to suspend ROK-US joint military exercises, but also his switch from harsh rhetoric against Kim to lavish adulation. Suzanne Scholte, a North Korea human rights activist, argues that the summit diplomacy was a confrontation between Trump’s “Art of the Deal” and Kim’s “Art of Deceit.” Since Kim can no longer resort to anti-American propaganda that helped the regime stay in power and keep subjects loyal, Trump’s “Art of the Deal” has forced Kim to choose between “following through on his promises” or “end his regime.”