The Trump-Kim Summit

   I can safely conclude that President Trump does not read this blog. Numerous times I warned against giving up too much for the dream of a denuclearized Korean peninsula. Yet, in exchange for signing an entirely pointless and meaningless agreement with Kim Jong Un (which merely reiterated commitments that North Korea has broken numerous times in the past), Trump gave up an extremely important tangible asset - joint military exercises with South Korea. Kim promised to destroy a missile engine testing site, but with only that much information, its hard to speculate as to how valuable the testing site actually was to North Korea's nuclear and ballistic ambitions.
   The fact that the President of the United States engaged in face to face dialogue with Kim Jong Un is extremely encouraging, without a doubt. Diplomacy is always a better option than being one misstep away from nuclear war. Nevertheless, diplomacy is merely a tool. It is not the end, but a means to an end. Donald Trump engaged in diplomacy, but his end - denuclearization - likely will not happen. In order to actually denuclearize North Korea, there needs to be verification - inspectors need to verify the destruction of the weapons, and international agencies need to monitor the regime's production of weapons grade Uranium or Plutonium. There was no verification in the Trump-Kim agreement - there were promises, to be sure, but promises are meaningless if they aren't carried out in practice.
    The summit also gave Kim Jong Un an "invisible", but still very meaningful, gain. The image of several American flags and North Korean flags flying together represents a huge propaganda victory for the North. It represents being recognized as a legitimate country on the global stage, and being an equal to the United States. This recognition has been the goal of the Kim family since the Korean war, and the summit marked an important step towards achieving that recognition. There was also the element of Trump repeatedly praising Kim Jong Un - a bit unnerving, given that he was tearing into Justin Trudeau just 48 hours before. Kim Jong Un's cheery demeanor over the past six months should not fool anyone - Kim Jong Un is still a brutal despot, who routinely executes anyone who crosses his path. His people are still starving, and North Korea is still one of the poorest countries on Earth.
    I sincerely hope that the denuclearization campaign succeeds, and I wish Donald Trump the best of luck in doing so. I commend the Trump administration's successful attempt at getting the two nuclear-armed leaders to sit down and discuss, rather than hurl threats of nuclear annihilation at each other. But Trump is simply conceding far too much. He has given up military exercises with South Korea (unless this is a bluff - in which case, do not expect to get anywhere in the future) and given North Korea international legitimacy. In exchange, Kim Jong Un signed a paper filled with empty, void promises, which are completely unverifiable. While this may look good for the upcoming elections, real results ultimately dictate how the world works. And in terms of real results, Donald Trump has failed to deliver.