South Korea’s President, Moon Jae-in, has plans to cross the DMZ on September 18 to meet with Kim Jung Un for the third time regarding the denuclearization and the ending of hostile relations between the two Koreas. North Korea is looking for security guarantees and ending of hostile relations in exchange for denuclearization, which is what the US and South Korea have been pursuing ever since the confirmation that North Korea has nuclear weapons. Moon hopes to propose a framework that would lead to denuclearization and officially end the Korean War. Issues over North Korean hostility and tension has lasted years, ever since the armistice of the Korean War in 1953. Tensions have been high since the armistice and Moon is hoping to deescalate the tensions as soon as possible; however, the US is unenthusiastic about ending the war before any nuclear talks can be finalized. Talks between North Korea have occurred before, but led to no results. Will this one be any different?
Discussion Questions:
Do you think North Korea will work with the US to finalize nuclear agreements?
What do you think should be proposed to help deescalate and help resolve the tension in the region?
How will North Korea react to US plans for denuclearization?
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-southkorea-summit/two-koreas-hold-high-stakes-summit-with-nuclear-talks-in-jeopardy-idUSKCN1LX1SC
I don't believe this meeting will prove much in the way of true diplomacy. As seen in the previous meetings between the two nations it appears an attempt towards establishing some peace has been made which I think was prompted by the tumultuous relationship the two have had over the past few years (poisoning, assassination attempts, etc). However the divisions between the two seem to be ideologically too great for them to establish lasting compromise. After Trump's meeting with the North Korean leader it seems as if the US's involvement is encouraging North Korea and the two nations to work towards demilitarization but any progress past that would be surprising and unlikely to see.
ReplyDeleteI think North Korea will feign working with the US, unless they are able to use extortion and somehow gain more than they're losing. Thus, I think the best way to ease tension in the region is to arrive at an agreement that yields at least some benefit for the north koreans. Though it is unlikely, I think this could be done through trade. Obviously North Korea is in a perpetual state of disaster in their economy, so if the US were to broker some sort of deal, it could be beneficial for all parties involved. Again, I don't think North Korea will be at all receptive to any plans unless there's something in it for North Korea.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that North Korea will continue to work with the US to finalize nuclear agreements. I believe in order to ease some of the tensions, there needs to be an agreement that both sides can benefit from without losing too much. I think North Korea might react by naming it a victory of US to denuclearize and portray it in a different light as they tend to censor much world news there.
ReplyDeleteAs stated before by manny others, North Korea and the US most likely will not be able to make progress to finalize clear agreements. Although there have been meetings between Trump and Kim Jong Un, I do not believe there will be progress unless it it beneficial for both sides. As Daniel stated, North Korea is in a disaster within their economy, the US could have an agreement to be beneficial to them and relieve tensions. Anything can happen, however it is highly unlikely any progress will be made.
ReplyDeleteI think that the United States trying to work with North Korea is a step in the right direction in order to reduce the tension in the region. It is impressive that President Trump was able to negotiate with Kim Jong Un, but more measure still needs to be taken in order to make North Korea calm down further. I think that the U.S have an opportunity to make progress here if the federal government handles this in the best way possible, which as Daniel mentioned is to make sure that North Korea can somehow benefit from the agreement made.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe that any results will come out of this meeting. I have been told by the media so many times that "this meeting could be different" with no results that I am honestly just tuning out any opinion articles that make any predictions about these summits. It is also worth noting that Kim Jung Un once said that he was going to stop building nuclear weapons but ended up going against his word so he is an untrustworthy individual.
ReplyDeleteI think that the intention is good for these talks to occur. Nuclear war is such a common talk now due to the amount of power weapons all of these countries have. However, I do not believe that this meeting will change anything. The US and North Korea have so much history and in previous meetings, have accomplished nothing. I do not think anything will change since there is too much history between the two countries. It will take a lot more time but it is possible. Regarding North and South Korea, these meetings are beneficial since these countries have been in conflict since their existence. If they become allies, the surge for nuclear war will greatly go down, and a lot of peace would evolve. Trump has also said a lot of negative things about North Korea on social media and during many interviews, so that could even increase tension between the US and North Korea, which is why this meeting will not be effective. Trump needs to watch what he says or posts because they will have a big impact on many world issues.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I'm not hopeful that North Korea will denuclearize. First of all, it is completely out of character for the consistently aggressive and defensive nation to all of a sudden agree to relinquishing it's biggest power play. Additionally, North Korea has historically sat down for talks with other powers to discuss this issue, and then shortly after dishonors the agreements made. I think that a move that would help deescalate tension in the region would be the possible reunification of the Koreas, or at least a warming of relations. This would be a positive step for the Korean people because many families could be reunited and mend broken relations. However, I know this is not that feasible considering the drastically different economies and social situations of the North and South. It would also lead the US to lose and important ally in the region, South Korea.
ReplyDeleteIn the past, North Korea has made little effort to come to a compromise regarding nuclear power. Trump's attempts to meet with North Korea seemed more like a game of tag than an attempt at diplomacy between the two countries. There is little chance that the meeting between North and South Korea will amount to anything because nothing has come of meetings in the past. I agree with Yasmina's point that a positive outcome could be an easing of tensions. I believe that communication is key for diplomacy to occur, even if it does not result in significant policy change. Hopefully, there will be some progress in this meeting.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I believe that the lessened tension between the two Koreas is a step in the right direction, it is way too early to predict the policy outcomes just from one conference. I don't think the United States and North Korea will reach to a consensus in relation to nuclear weapons, as their expectations are too far apart. However, I am still optimistic about the two Koreas bettering relations, and hopefully demilitarizing the border.
ReplyDeleteWhile North Korea is clearly making an effort to reduce the tension between the two sides, ultimately it is unlikely that this one meeting will result in any major changes between the two sides. I acknowledge that having these diplomatic meetings are a step in the right direction, but North Korea has went back upon its word numerous times in the past, therefore we don't know if we can trust any agreements that are made between the two sides
ReplyDelete