Wow! I did not see this coming!

https://edition-m.cnn.com/2018/04/27/asia/korean-summit-intl/index.html

Ilsan, South Korea (CNN) — Leaders of the two Koreas have agreed to end the Korean War, 65 years after hostilities ceased, in a wide-ranging joint announcement struck Friday, that includes working towards the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his North Korean counterpart, Kim Jong Un, signed the "Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification on the Korean Peninsula," at the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that has divided the two countries for more than six decades.

Following the signing ceremony, the two leaders clasped hands and hugged in a symbolic act of togetherness after a full day of meetings, including a 30-minute private conversation beamed live around world.

In separate speeches they promised a new era for the Korean Peninsula. Addressing the world's media, Kim said the Koreas "will be reunited as one country."
The three-page agreement promises to carry out disarmament in a phased manner with the ambition of establishing a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.

The Koreas went to war in 1950 when soldiers from the North Korean People's Army invaded the South. Although the armed conflict ended three years later in 1953, with the signing of an armistice agreement, no formal peace treaty was ever signed, and technically, the Peninsula remains at war.

"The two leaders solemnly declare ... that there will be no more war on the Korean Peninsula and a new era of peace has begun," the declaration said. The announcement, unthinkable only months ago, said Moon will travel to Pyongyang later this year.

The declaration also included: ​
Quadrilateral meetings to be held with the Koreas, the US and China "with a view to declaring and end to the War."
All hostile acts will be ceased, and the demilitarization zone will be turned into a "peace zone."
A commitment to reunite families separated by the war with family reunion programs to resume on August 15 this year.
The establishment of a joint liaison office in Kaeseong, a shared economic zone near the border.
Closer diplomatic relations between the two countries, at all levels of government.
Joint teams to be sent to international events, starting with the 2018 Asian Games.

Months in the making
The announcement comes after months of careful preparation in advance of the summit.
South Korea had scripted the meeting of the two leaders, down to the second, but it was Kim who delivered the most dramatic moment.
After he crossed the military demarcation line separating North and South Korea to shake hands with Moon, Kim invited him to step into the North.

The moment was greeted by gasps, cheers and applause from people watching it on a large screen in central Seoul, and at a conference center in nearby Ilsan, where the South Korean government had set up a sprawling media center for the thousands of journalists invited to watch history being made.

It was also perhaps the only spontaneous moment of this carefully choreographed affair, which the Blue House has been practicing and rehearsing for weeks.
"President Moon briefly crossed over the MDL to the North," the Blue House said in a statement, referring to the military demarcation line. "This was not a planned event."

Kim Hyun, spokeswoman for Moon's Democratic Party, told reporters the "whole nation and entire world passionately cheered" the meeting, adding that Kim's crossing onto South Korean soil would be "remembered as a deeply moving moment."

Writing in a visitor's book upon entering the Peace House, where negotiations took place, Kim wrote "a new history begins now" and "an age of peace, at the starting point of history."

Moon praised Kim's "courageous and bold decision" to sit down for talks during their morning meeting. "Over the past seven decades we weren't able to communicate, so I think we can talk the whole day today", Moon said, drawing laughs from Kim.

The summit is the result of lengthy and determined negotiating on the part of Moon, a longtime advocate of peace between the Koreas. It will also set the stage for the first meeting between a sitting US president and North Korean leader when Donald Trump and Kim meet in late May or June.

Ending 65 years of conflict
North of Seoul, along the Freedom Road, which stretches from the city to the Reunification Bridge leading into the demilitarized zone (DMZ), there was a sign of the changing mood: on one side of the highway, yellow and white balloons emblazoned with a blue map of Koreas; on the other, razor wire, guard towers and heavily armed soldiers patrolling the southern bank of the Han River which bisects the still-at-war Peninsula.

While fighting ended 65 years ago, the wounds of war are still very apparent. Families remain split by the conflict, unable to see their relatives on the other side, and some who lost relatives decades ago are still unaware of what fate befell them.
Near the DMZ Thursday, 51 people from the Korean War Veterans Revisit Korea Program had gathered to remember their relatives lost in that conflict and support peace and reunification.

"My father Karle Seydel was killed December 7, 1950 in the Chosun reservoir," Ruth Hebert, who was from San Diego in California, told CNN. His body is believed to be still somewhere inside North Korea.
Hebert said she had spoken with South Koreans who had lost family members in the war and been separated from relatives by the partitioning of the Peninsula.

"We hope and pray that ... this starts to really change," she added. "There's a hope with Japan, with Korea, with the Americans to recover remains. There may be a few (prisoners of war) alive but mostly now it's down to remains."

A formal end to the war will involve more than just the Koreas. Both China and the US, under the flag of the United Nations, were massively involved in the conflict, and would have to be signatories to an eventual peace treaty.

The stage is now set for US President Donald Trump's meeting with Kim Jong Un later this year, which observers will be hoping goes as smoothly as Friday's summit.

You know he's gonna cook off this.

What role do you think he played? Maybe his stance with China put pressure on them to toughen up on NK?
I haven't thought it through yet

With Trump upgrading his rhetoric to an alarming degree and thratening outright war, it basically forced both sides to go it alone. He’s gonna tout it as tough guy negotiations it working out* but its more slong the lines the US effectively stepped away from North Korea and outwardly saying they would sacrificing the South (cause who was gonna really suffer casualties in a war, not the US) to keep NK in check.

It makes you wonder even besides the obvious how much of a destabilizing agent the US might be (what would happen if we stepped away from Israel, etc).

*meanwhile with Brexit and the UK going, “We great Britiian bitch, what the fuck you gonna do without us” and being met with a collective shrug and a condesending head tap with the EU kinda shows you the downside to swinging ya dick in negotiations

>It makes you wonder even besides the obvious how much of a
>destabilizing agent the US might be (what would happen if we
>stepped away from Israel, etc).

whenever we intervene somewhere like iraq and fuck it up...it is widely viewed as a failure. but thats only if the goal is peace and stability. our goal in a lot of places is to undermine all of that and make it as disordered as possible. we dont wanna see a largely united middle east/africa/asia region like the uk.

i think trump might actually be fucking up our usual interests by wanting peace so bad just so he can get credit. its harder for us to muscle nations like japan, china, and south korea in negotiations when that bargaining chip is off the table.

north korea pushed for nuclearization as a means to be legitimized by the international community. theres an intense pressure for other nations to sit down with you and respect you once they realize you have the means to kill them lol.

the coverage on this has been constantly painting it like a kim jong un change of heart. its looking more to me like he is closer to reaching the goal he was pushing for all along. we gotta remember that we get very little information from nk because it has been so closed/secluded. so most of what we think they are doing is based on 3rd party interpretation and narrative.

we will see how this denuclearization summit pans out. but if united states withdraws from the iran deal then we would put the nk talks in jeopardy too.

It's in the sense that we're officially too unstable to be the world's superpower and Moon realized this. The US as world policeman isn't going to be around for much longer and he had to make a move that was in the best interest of his people.

(But really, this isn't about us.)

stay woke


"Get ready....for your blessing....."

olympics, tpp, kim jong un secret trip to china, this. its not hard to see whats going on. united states is being elbowed out of the region.

our diplomatic/economic withdrawal from the world stage is allowing other nations to start/strengthen alliances without regard for our interests.

if not ahead

Africa on lock.
Making major inroads in Asia.

And major outposts in places like Italy and some South American countries.

Military of course nobody is close...but imho China's successfully doing what the Soviet Union tried and failed to do for decades

plays into this.

I was telling my guy a month ago Russia and China would team up against the US and it happened a few days ago:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/russia-china-militaries-reach-apos-195848842.html

Russia and China Militaries Reach ‘New Heights’ Together, Agree to Challenge U.S. in Middle East

Russia and China have pledged to strengthen their bilateral military and political ties as part of a strategic cooperation that challenges U.S. interests, especially to Washington's stance on Middle East allies Syria and Iran.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu met Tuesday with Air Force General Xu Qiliang, deputy vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission, and other regional military officials as part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in the eastern city of Qingdao. As increasingly powerful Russia and China build up their clout on the world stage, they sought a more united front against the U.S., which frequently challenged their rise


^^^^^^^^^^This plus the NK/SK peace treaty reads to me like they ARE trying to move the US out of Asia and eventually the Middle East. If there was one legit reason to get Trump out of office, it would be because the rest of the world smells blood in the water.

theyre going hard on things like renewable energy and a.i. while we double down on coal and tobacco lol.

while america is run by folks who mask regressive corporate interests and short term gluttony as nationalism, china is run by true nationalists who genuinely wanna be better than everyone else.

i think it was Odd Lots Podcast

something along the lines of

China has been a dominant force for centuries. They are the mature and experienced adult to the USA immature child like sense of self. So the idea is that they are simply waiting it out and are setting the stage to take the brass ring in the coming decades and centuries

because of the whole mess with the subprime housing meltdown from years ago or is that not the case anymore?

It's not due to the housing mess, and it's not a big deal.

They are simply just buying our bonds. Japan is very close behind them in terms of US debt

>

On some "We stand a better chance against the yankees/Cheeto dem if we're united in solidarity/military resources" type shit.

Dem ninjaz on Voltron status. I ain't mad at'em nietha.

i'm lightweight shook at the thought....


"Get ready....for your blessing....."

With the exception of the Nazi conflict, America has been on the wrong side of almost every global conflict she was involved in.
Cmon Fluid, I KNOW you know this. Context man.

Euro-American imperialism has been the bane of melanated nations since times immemorial. I respect any nation that says, "fuck it, we've had enough of your colonial bullying. We finna galvanize and defend our collective sovereignty against your exploitative practices resolutely!"

I can respect ^that. I ain't mad at ^that. Context man.

Karma is a bitch and she damn-sho got a score to settle wit America.
I just hope I ain't here when she comes to collek 'cus she GON' collek! Bet dat.

on the world stage.

I know damn well, dat muthafukka gonna try to take full credit for dis shit.



His twitter finna be on some dumb shit.

https://twitter.com/JazzShaw/status/989826833431646210


i wonder if kim jong un is playing everybody lol.

like he supposedly offered to shut down activity at one of his nuclear test sites...then we find out the other day that it had already collapsed and was inoperable lol.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/26/north-korea-nuclear-test-site-collapse-may-be-out-of-action-china

North Korea’s main nuclear test site has partially collapsed under the stress of multiple explosions, possibly rendering it unsafe for further testing and leaving it vulnerable to radiation leaks, a study by Chinese geologists has shown.

The findings could cast doubt on North Korea’s sincerity in announcing last weekend that it would stop testing nuclear weapons at the site ahead of Friday’s summit between the country’s leader, Kim Jong-un, and the South Korean president, Moon Jae-in.

The test site at Punggye-ri, in a mountainous area in North Korea’s north-east, has been the location for all six of the regime’s nuclear tests since 2006.

The findings, by scientists at the University of Science and Technology of China, suggest the partial collapse of the mountain that contains the testing tunnels, as well as the risk of radiation leaks, have potentially rendered the site unusable.

The study was published soon after Kim said his country would stop testing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, and close down Punggye-ri before his meeting with Moon just south of the countries’ heavily armed border.


Trump calls Kim 'very honourable' and says North Korea wants summit as soon as possible
Read more
Nuclear explosions release enormous amounts of heat and energy, and the North’s largest test, in September last year, was believed early on to have rendered the site - a network of tunnels beneath Mount Mantap - unstable.

The Chinese scientists collected collected data for their study following the most powerful of the North’s six nuclear tests, on 3 September.

The controlled explosion, which caused an initial magnitude-6.3 tremor, is believed to have triggered four more earthquakes over the following weeks. The study concluded that eight-and-a-half minutes after the test, there was “a near-vertical on-site collapse towards the nuclear test centre”.

The Chinese university paper, written by Tian Dongdong, Yao Jiawen and Wen Lianxing, said that was followed by an “earthquake swarm” in similar locations.

The yield of the bomb was estimated at more than 100 kilotons of TNT, at least 10 times stronger than anything the North had tested previously. The bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945 had a yield of about 15 kilotons.

“In view of the research finding that the North Korea nuclear test site at Mount Mantap has collapsed, it is necessary to continue to monitor any leakage of radioactive materials that may have been caused by the collapse,” the authors said in a summary dated Monday and seen on Wednesday on the university’s website.

The new study is peer-reviewed and has been accepted for publication by the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

The Chinese study made sense and was based on well-understood research, said Rowena Lohman, a seismologist at Cornell University who wasn’t part of the work.

A study published last month by the journal, written by a team led by Liu Junqing at the earthquake bureau in Jilin province along the border with North Korea, found similar results from the September explosion. It described the aftershock that followed seconds later as most likely the “rapid destruction of an explosion-generated cracked rock chimney due to cavity collapse”.

Beijing is particularly concerned about the North’s nuclear tests, since the Punggye-ri site is less than 100km (60 miles) from the border with China.

North Korean nuclear tests have caused seismic events in Chinese border towns and cities, forcing evacuations of schools and offices, sparking fears of wind-borne radiation and leading to a backlash among some Chinese against their country’s unpredictable traditional ally. Chinese authorities have said they’ve detected no radiation risk from the tests.

Kune Yull Suh, a professor of nuclear engineering at Seoul National University, warned last year that further tests could threaten to cause a volcanic eruption at Mount Paektu, which is about 100km away.

On Saturday, Kim announced North Korea would close its nuclear testing facility and suspend nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests – a move welcomed by US president Donald Trump as “big progress” – and which comes ahead of a planned summit between the leaders in late May or early June.

However, Kim stopped short of promising to give up his nuclear weapons, and the missile test ban does not include shorter-range weapons capable of reaching Japan and South Korea.

http://www.reactiongifs.us/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/fry_squinting.gif

All of sudden this dude is going to do an about face? Why?

https://pre00.deviantart.net/2804/th/pre/f/2016/117/5/2/the_donald_by_sharpwriter-da0eh6b.jpg
>
>All of sudden this dude is going to do an about face? Why?

To death

Vietnam and Germany reunified AFTER the losing side collapsed
RIP DPRK? I don't see it

stopped supporting Cuba and Eastern Europe.

did any of trumps actions influence this?

did south korea make a push for this on their own?

is north korea just playing us all?

are the koreas about to push the USA out?

is north korea only doing this now because they have had some failures and this is their only option?

if this really ends in peace then i don't care who gets the credit. im just worried that the north is playing us all somehow. dont even know what that would mean though.

Koreans trying to do for dolo like China and Singapore. Kim got his country on some dusty jazz loops shit and its time to switch up the flow. I'm bout to open a fried chicken restaurant in Pyongyang

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=am9BqZ6eA5c

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/04/30/607008627/trump-should-win-the-nobel-peace-prize-south-korea-s-moon-says

Congratulated for an apparent breakthrough in relations between South Korea and North Korea, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said, "It's President Trump who should receive the Nobel Prize."

China outchea playing chess

believe dat

Does the baby man want a prize? cool give him that award so we can cook ova here

Things are continuing to look promising. I hope everything works out.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/05/09/609684331/north-korea-releases-3-americans-as-pompeos-visit-concludes

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/trump-north-korea-leader-kim-jong-un-will-meet-singapore-n872966

It's crazy how fast things have changed.

It was just a few months ago we were talking about Rocketman/Dotard, fire and fury, "my nuclear button is bigger than yours", Guam and Hawaii under threat.
Now they prisoners are released and diplomatic talks are set.

hopefully he gets captured and sent to labor camp in No Ko

Their facility appears to be unusable any more. They're probably just trying to use that to get some of the sanctions lifted (by pretending like they're doing this on their own.) Also, Kim would live to get a promise of no invasion.

Fuck some communism...come get this chicken and waffles

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-missiles/north-korea-to-dismantle-nuclear-test-site-may-23-25-state-media-idUSKCN1ID0H5

i have no idea why the news doesnt hammer home the fact that the site was rendered inoperable a while ago. its usually buried in the bottom of the story somewhere.

https://i.gifer.com/DaOF.mp4

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/15/north-korea-cancels-scheduled-meeting-with-south-korea-reports.html

LMAO!!

But NK is crazy.

And the U.S. is crazy.

It's like i'm hoping our least qualified president can actually make peace - I just doubt it.

I am rooting for us.

recently.

china with trade, espionage, etc. nk saying shit like trump needs to stop trying to take credit for nk/sk peace talks.

they both know they have a weak/clueless adversary with virtually no high level diplomatic staff. i mean we got pompeo taking selfies with kim like a fan boy and trump saying kim treated 3 men great (who he kidnapped, held hostage, and forced to work in labor camps lol).

we dont just have to worry that trump wont get this done. we have to worry about trump actually getting it done but desperately caving to all of nk demands and getting nothing in return to do it.

because you have a president desperate for a 'win' at just about any cost.

trump is dumb enough to put all his eggs in this one basket and nk/china/russia are smart enough to use it as leverage against him.

i wouldnt at all be surprised if nk gets us to suspend military drills and even drawback some troops in the area just to get to a sitdown.

https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/996579750243160070

they took economic trade off the table of possible terms too
https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/996577027653324801

their change in public posture is readily apparent now.

lol @ trump and foxnews biting on the original bait and doing a victory lap just for scheduling a possible summit date/location.

nk has already won simply by using nukes to be treated as an equal in their region (which is why nations really push for nukes). theyve been trying to get to this moment for generations.

trump (in his head) can only win by securing a denuke agreement in hopes to garner the nobel peace prize.

nk could presumably keep nukes, reach a peace agreement with sk, strengthen relations with china/russia, get partial sanctions relief, soften militarization/defense from sk and allies and further isolate the united states from the region. that would be a generational coup against a historically incompetent president.

And we do not hide our feeling of repugnance towards him"

https://twitter.com/jchengwsj/status/996586112222052353?s=21

Sheesh

But...they already made the commemorative coins.
https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/KZCngoYZStI4uCC5O2g54eo5_0c=/0x0:535x486/1220x813/filters:focal(226x201:310x285):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59803657/Screen_Shot_2018_05_21_at_2.35.43_PM.0.png


https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/24/trump-says-singapore-summit-with-north-korea-leader-kim-is-cancelled-.html

Because I would maybe pay money for one of those now

"Get ready....for your blessing....."

Who could have seen this coming? I really want to get my hands on one of those coins, now. Gonna be like getting a New England Patriots 19-0 shirt from 2007.

> Gonna be like getting a New
>England Patriots 19-0 shirt from 2007.

This investigation is taking fucking forever, we will all be nuclear ash by the time this dude gets impeached

Nothing is going to happen to Trump until the next election. That fool is here to stay.

I say just wait it out and settle it at the 2020 ballots

Mueller isn't removing him form office

NK officials got the news the same time the foreign journalists did (they are still in North Korea btw). Apparently the NK officials were shocked, got up and immediately started making calls to the higher ups.

>
https://twitter.com/megwagner/status/999659079743094785
>


The South Korean president was just here a couple of days ago. He had to call an emergency midnight meeting to discuss this with his officials.

>
"South Korea's Yonhap News Agency quoted a presidential office spokesman as saying they "are trying to figure out what President Trump's intention is and the exact meaning of it.""
>

You can save $5

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dd-G1SSU0AIl00E.jpg:large

I'm not giving anything to those fucks, though.

a substantial peace agreement between the Koreas more likely.

>a substantial peace agreement between the Koreas more likely.

But it probably makes real denuclearaztion impossible with Trump.

And NK has a SHIT TON of mortars and short range missiles they can destroy SK with.

I think the outcome may be peace with SK but still keeping all the weapons pointed at them, and Japan, and keeping the nukes because Trump AND the U.S. can not be trusted.

Kim wins in this scenario- he'll get trade and money, and still keep the weapons he needs to stop us from invading.

Crazy as Kim is, it would be even crazier to NOT have nukes when the world's largest nuclear power has been threatening you for a decade plus.

If they can get some kind of ease on international sanctions against NK with a (more than symbolic) reduction in what they've got while maybe dismantling what they've got actually pointed at Seoul would still be a good outcome if it really means an end to the war.

Extra brownie points for China if they're the big power that puts this together (and they can actually force NK to make sure they follow through.) Gonna make them look like the real big dogs on the block.

Though this could permanently alter SK/USA relations, which is obviously bad.

But certainly not within the time frame and conditions Trump/Bolton are DEMANDING. And maybe not after the Iran deal pullout *ie., violation) that we did.

But even without nukes the amount of damage the can do to South Korea is insane - we'd have to madmen to invade them unless they are literally destroying the world.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/inside-summit-collapse-trump-wanted-cancel-n-korean-leader-could-n877291

Memories are woefully short on North Korea.

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/390292-trump-says-summit-with-north-korea-will-take-place-on-june-12

It was a big day!

I get the feeling that Kim really wants to make something work.

maybe?

I know they signed a document, I guess, but the details are a bit thin and not sure what we really got out of it. There's a ton of bluster and shit show, and it's probably not going to do much long term if there's no real follow up from this high five session.

We got a greasy smooth looking Dennis Rodman crying on CNN at least.

That's all I heard about this...

I watched PBS last night and there really wasn't much to discuss besides shaking hands.

NEW: Pres. Trump notifies Congress of decision to continue national emergency over North Korea, "citing existence and risk of proliferation of weapons-usable fissile material on the Korean Peninsula." https://abcn.ws/2tl6jng

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DgTmY_CXcAIYORC.jpg


https://twitter.com/ABC/status/1010185535380484096

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/north-korea/north-korea-has-increased-nuclear-production-secret-sites-say-u-n887926

https://media3.s-nbcnews.com/j/newscms/2018_26/2479681/180627-yongbyon-north-korea-nuclear-fig7-38north-satellite-image-se-618p_015d84b36eda13b9b8983efe4133bc35.fit-560w.jpg

how the fuck do they know what these units are from so far away?

and the description of "one small vehicle" made me laugh

no shit, I see a car and 2 trucks but a stain on the roof is from cooling? Man... while it could be true it sure seems like it could be wrong as hell too.

-Screwed up the Iran deal which was working beautifully at no cost
-Did a melania/Michelle copy paste to try the same setup with nkorea
-Gave up the joint exercises with south Korea
-"Shook hands with a dictator", gave lil Kim a worldwide audience, and even changed the photos in the Whitehouse from macron to KJU

& had folk, some in this very post even, buying the bs

Meanwhile he got BSed by a bigger BSer.

They should ask all the congressmen that were working on the Nobel prize recommendation how they feel abt the latest development

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2018/07/06/2018070600907.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/north-korean-negotiator-teases-and-flatters-as-pompeo-enters-second-day-of-talks/2018/07/07/d2a06324-8175-4589-bf08-def6e56aa962_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.ccdb46f25265

North Korea calls U.S. attitude toward talks ‘regrettable,’ rejecting Pompeo’s claim meetings were ‘productive’
By John Hudson
July 7 at 9:52 AM

TOKYO — Just hours after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo departed North Korea after two days of nuclear negotiations, North Korea sharply criticized the U.S. team's attitude as “regrettable,” and accused the U.S. of making unilateral demands of denuclearization.

The remarks from North Korea’s foreign ministry directly contradicted statements made by Pompeo that the visit made “progress on almost all of the central issues” and involved “good-faith negotiations.”

The Foreign Ministry statement, issued by an unnamed spokesman, said the U.S. violated the spirit of the June 12 Singapore summit between President Trump and Kim Jong Un.

The mixed messages followed a visit in which Pompeo did not meet with the North Korean leader while in the country and did not secure a breakthrough in forging a shared understanding of denuclearization.

Pompeo has come under increasing pressure to produce tangible results from the summit that President Trump quickly touted as a game-changing moment that eliminated North Korea’s nuclear threat.

But analysts said the reality is now sinking in that any final accord between the two nations to eliminate Pyongyang’s sophisticated nuclear and missile arsenal will be a long slog with no guarantee of success.

“While we were hopeful there would be some sort of breakthrough, it seems both sides agreed to merely keep talking,” said Harry Kazianis, an Asia expert at the Center for the National Interest.

Pompeo told reporters that the two countries would soon hold working-level talks on the destruction of Pyongyang’s missile-engine-testing facility. He also said Pentagon officials will meet with their North Korean counterparts on or near July 12 at the demilitarized zone between the Koreas to discuss the return of the remains of U.S. soldiers from the Korean War.

Last month, Trump told a crowd of supporters that the remains of 200 people had “been sent back,” but U.S. military officials later said that was not the case. U.S. officials viewed the issue as an easy confidence-building measure to demonstrate North Korea’s sincerity and have been frustrated with the speed of Pyongyang’s follow-through.

Pompeo said both the testing facility issue and recovering U.S. remains still need to be finalized.

“We now have a meeting set up for July 12 — it could move by one day or two — where there will be discussions between the folks responsible for the repatriation of remains,” he said.

When asked if he got any closer to setting out a timeline to denuclearize, Pompeo said, “I’m not going to get into details of our conversations but we spent a good deal of time talking . . . and I think we made progress in every element of our discussions.”

Pompeo’s visit to North Korea forced the United States to postpone a planned meeting of U.S. and Indian defense and foreign ministers, so expectations were high among Japanese and South Korean officials that Pompeo would meet with Kim Jong Un during the two-day visit. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert, however, said the United States had no expectation of a meeting with Kim.

“Chairman Kim is keeping his distance, perhaps considering how he will able to win sanctions relief without taking serious denuclearization steps,” said Patrick Cronin, an Asia expert at the Center for a New American Security.

Ahead of the new round of talks, Kim Yong Chol, North Korea’s septuagenarian former spy chief, teased Pompeo, suggesting that the “serious” negotiations the night before may have caused Pompeo to lose sleep.

“We did have very serious discussion on very important matters yesterday. So thinking about those discussions, you might have not slept well last night,” Kim said.

“Director Kim, I slept just fine,” Pompeo responded, according to a pool report provided by reporters accompanying the secretary of state.

Kim, a regime hard-liner who is careful not to act outside North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s instructions, said he needed to “clarify” aspects of his nearly three-hour negotiations Friday with Pompeo, a desire the top U.S. diplomat immediately echoed.

“There are things that I have to clarify as well,” Pompeo said.

The display of small talk between North Korean and U.S. officials, a rarity given the infrequent contacts between the longtime adversaries, revealed both the tension at the heart of the nuclear negotiations and the increasing familiarity of the two men who have become diplomatic counterparts during Pompeo’s three visits to Pyongyang and Kim’s visit to New York City in May.

Nauert said Pompeo was being “very firm” in seeking three basic goals from the visit: the complete denuclearization of North Korea, security assurances and the repatriation of fallen soldiers.

Diplomats, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive conversations, said the United States continues to struggle to develop a shared understanding of what denuclearization means to North Korea.

Adding to the pressure on Pompeo to deliver tangible results is a leaked U.S. intelligence assessment casting doubt on North Korea’s willingness to relinquish its arsenal.

Nauert said Pompeo called Trump on Saturday morning to update him on the talks, a call that included White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly and national security adviser John Bolton.

During the visit, Nauert said, the two sides agreed to set up working groups to deal with the “nitty-gritty stuff,” including verification of efforts to achieve denuclearization, but there was no indication that the North Korean working group would be empowered by Kim Jong Un, a necessary ingredient for any progress.

Following the Singapore summit, senior U.S. and North Korean diplomats struggled to maintain basic communication, leading to concerns that the talks would require Pompeo, who has many other responsibilities, to devote an unmanageable amount of time on the Korea issue.

The top U.S. diplomat said Saturday the two sides “laid out a path for further negotiation” among lower-ranking officials.

Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, said the ability for those more junior officials to work productively is critical.

“What concerns me at this stage is the secretary of state flying all the way from Washington to Pyongyang to try to engage in detailed working-level negotiations as an ongoing approach to negotiating denuclearization,” he said. “That’s unsustainable.”

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-12/north-koreans-are-no-show-at-u-s-war-dead-talks-yonhap-reports