Thursday, February 28, 2019

U.S. - North Korea Nuclear Talks Collapse



Daily Mail: NO DEAL! Vietnam summit ends abruptly as Kim REFUSES Trump’s denuclearization demands, leaders fail to agree on lifting North Korean sanctions and abandon lunch and cancel signing ceremony

* Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un abruptly ended their summit in Hanoi early without signing a deal
* He said the issue was Kim's insistence that all sanctions get lifted in return for only giving up some nukes
* Trump continued to tout his 'warm' relationship with Kim, but added 'you have to be willing to walk away'
* Secretary of State Mike Pompeo added that progress had been made 'but we didn't get all the way'
* Planned lunch never happened
* Kim's state news agency KCNA said on Thursday: 'Sincere and in-depth views were exchanged to bring about a comprehensive and groundbreaking outcome'
* The talks came just hours after Michael Cohen's bombshell testimony to Congress which damned his ex-boss as a racist and a liar

Donald Trump's talks with Kim Jong-un ended abruptly on Thursday as the president said he was forced to walk away after the North Korean dictator demanded that all sanctions be lifted in return for giving up only some of his nukes.

Trump said the final snag that caused the sudden breakdown was over sanctions – and Kim's push to have all of them lifted in exchange for a concession Trump and his secretary of state could not live with.

'Sometimes you have to walk away,' Trump told reporters at a press conference in Hanoi that was abruptly moved up after a breakdown in talks.

The president expressed his hope that the two leaders would meet again, but acknowledged: 'It might be soon, it might not be for a long time. I can’t tell you.'

Read more ....

WNU Editor: No one said this was going to be easy. Expect a flurry of action from diplomats in the next few months .... Burden back on diplomats as Trump and Kim fail to reach North Korea deal (Reuters). I also expect China and South Korea will be stepping in.

U.S. - North Korea Nuclear Talks Collapse

The Latest: Pompeo says talks with North Korea will resume -- AP
Trump-Kim summit in Vietnam: All the latest updates -- Al Jazeera
No deal: Trump, Kim summit collapses over sanctions impasse -- AP
'Sometimes you have to walk': Trump scraps North Korea summit deal -- Reuters
Trump’s Talks With Kim Jong-un Collapse Over North Korean Sanctions -- The New York Times
No agreement reached at Trump-Kim summit in Vietnam -- DW
Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un cut short their nuclear summit after failing to reach deal -- ABC News Online
Trump-Kim summit in Hanoi collapses after negotiations fail -- The Guardian
Trump, Kim leave Vietnam summit without agreement -- Al Jazeera
'Progress' but no deal: Mixed scorecard for Trump & Kim's Hanoi summit -- RT
Pompeo says more U.S-North Korea meetings possible, but no plans -- Reuters
We asked Kim ‘to do more’ but he wasn’t prepared to – Pompeo -- RT
Japan's Abe backs Trump after Kim summit ends with no deal -- AFP
China says N. Korean nuclear issue can't be solved 'overnight' -- AFP
'I told you so!': No deal summit no surprise to N. Korean defectors -- AFP
Trump-Kim meeting: The big moments from the dramatic summit in Vietnam -- Bill Birtles, ABC News Online

3 comments:

Bob Huntley said...

Given his failure in Vietnam and the Cohen Congressional apparence, which seemed to be very well timed, Trump is going to be even more senseless in the WH than usual. Watch out Venezuela.

Hans Persson said...

Your argument makes no sense at all. Is he going to lash out on Venezuela just because of this?

Bob Huntley said...

Trump has a reputation for lashing out when frustrated. His WH staff have leaked this.

Given two major issues that are on his shoulders, personally, and he has made the North Korea discussions towards agreement personal, he will lash out, but at whom, apart from those closest i.e., his staff?

Keep in mind the rhetoric emanating from the USA regarding Venezuela lately. The troops appear to be on quasi alert already. So positioned don't be shocked if Trump pulls the string keeping in mind the Bush lesson, when it looks like you might not get elected start a war.

There is an outside issue that would suggest the US better get involved aggressively soon and that is the impact of China, a major creditor to Venezeula. What if the Maduro government made a deal with China to forgive that debt?

Trump appears to be on the edge and of course nobody can predict what he will do to save his job and face.