On June 12, 2018, an event that garnered global attention took place in Singapore. This was the first time in history in which the President of the United States and the leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea held a summit. President Donald J. Trump and Chairman Kim Jong Un met at Capella Singapore, a hotel on the island of Sentosa, and agreed on a Joint Statement to work towards completing denuclearization and establishing new relations for peace and prosperity. President Trump later confirmed that Kim Jong Un promised not to resume intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) or nuclear tests. Although there were mixed reactions on the first Trump-Kim summit, many people around the world, including those in Singapore, praised the summit as a success.
A year and a half after the U.S.-DPRK summit in Singapore, I had a chance to visit South Korea. I took the opportunity to see how South Koreans felt about the U.S.-DPRK Joint Statement and whether they believed progress has been made on its implementation. I had a chance to interview various people, including a journalist, ordinary citizens and a government official. What they said in common was that the U.S.-DPRK Joint Statement is at the brink of being breached.
A Korean broadcasting company political department head said that “Kim Jong Un has declared de facto termination of the Joint Statement at the plenary meeting of the Workers’ Party Central Committee.” He added that the termination of the U.S.-DRPK Joint Statement seems imminent asNorth Korea warned of introducing a new strategic weapon - alluding to an advanced ICBM - in the near future.
In late December of 2019, North Korea leader Kim Jong Un presided over a four-day plenary meeting of the Workers’ Party Central Committee and stated that Pyongyang will make effort to incapacitate U.S. sanctions rather than waiting for their abolishment. Kim Jong Un also added that he saw no reason to stick to his earlier commitment to suspend nuclear and long-range missile tests, and warned of a “new strategic weapon” . North Korea has also been continuously launching numerous short range ballistic missiles (SRBM) and submarine launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) since May 2019.
Many South Koreans appeared disappointed about the recent developments. A man in his 70’s commented that “The Singapore agreement was nothing but a political show,” and a woman in her 50’s said “it feels like we have returned to 2017 when North Korea made frequent threats with its missiles.”
A South Korean official said anonymously that “The Singapore Joint Statement has not been officially abrogated, but it is true that it is being challenged” and added that “the fate of the agreement depends on the negotiation between the U.S. and North Korea which is likely to take place in the first half of the year 2020.”
Whether the 2018 U.S.-DPRK summit held in Singapore will be remembered as a defining moment in history or a mere political show remains to be decided after the first half of this year.
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