Tillerson seeks neutral site for Trump-Kim talks

Through all this, China was little more than an observer.

Kim Jung-un can, on the other hand, claim the opposite; that his success in the missile and nuclear spheres that brought U.S. territories within their reach can be credited for the breakthrough.

The fear of marginalisation in Beijing is palpable.

The South Korean delegation that met with him said the North Koreans indicated they’re prepared to talk denuclearization if they’re given certain security assurances.

Local reaction Friday to news that North Korea’s Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump plan to meet in May for nuclear disarmament talks seemed to fall under the same category: surprise, skepticism and a belief it never would have happened a few months ago.

Faso said the trip important is relevant to a wide range of issues.

Many have considered the move from Kim to be smart, signalling the fact that he wants to be treated as an equal on the world stage.

“I think certainly the administration has successfully put sufficient pressure on the North Koreans through China, though others, and through our own activity to hopefully bring the North Koreans to the table in a meaningful way”, he said.

Cheng also said that while Beijing’s role in the leaders’ summits may be limited, “it’s hard for North Korea to ignore China as China remains its neighbour and a country with veto power at the United Nations Security Council”.

The North Korean nuclear crisis is at a crossroads and Washington and Pyongyang should hold direct talks as soon as possible. The men carrying flags are wearing North Korean university uniforms.

As Stanford political scientist Scott Sagan summarizes, “States will seek to develop nuclear weapons when they face a significant military threat to their security that can not be met through alternative means; if they do not face such threats, they willingly remain non-nuclear states.”Kim is in this sense a rational actor in pursuit of regime survival and dynasty preservation, perceiving nukes as his sole effective tool”. He struggled for years to adjust to his new capitalist home before finding the sport he says now means “everything in life”.

South Korea’s Hyundai Motor will pay higher raw material costs due to Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminium, a senior South Korean government official said last week. “We believe that neither of the preconditions could be satisfied without China’s active involvement and support”, the commentary said. What actions would it need to take to remove the military threat against Pyongyang and to reassure the regime of its safety? Is it the removal of American troops from South Korea? With Trump’s brash nature and lack-of-tact, this may be Kim’s flawless opportunity to achieve this, since Trump would love anything that seems like a win (and really, this would be a major win for the Trump administration if he were to achieve this). The future of the US-South Korea alliance may well be in the balance.

“We’ve played this game for decades”, Maginnis complains. In the past, he noted, “the process once the North Koreans said, ‘Hey, we’re willing to do this stuff, ‘ has been abysmal”.

Kono’s comment followed his meeting with Suh Hoon, the director of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, who is visiting Japan to brief Tokyo about his historic visit to North Korea.