• Burmese
Thursday, July 10, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
25 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News World

Some Sighs of Relief in Washington as Trump Returns Empty Handed from Kim Summit

Reuters by Reuters
March 1, 2019
in World
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
U.S. President Donald Trump attends a news conference after his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, at the JW Marriott Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam on February 28, 2019. / REUTERS 

U.S. President Donald Trump attends a news conference after his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, at the JW Marriott Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam on February 28, 2019. / REUTERS 

4.1k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

WASHINGTON—Among some U.S. officials, congressional aides, analysts and others who track North Korea, there was a sigh of relief on Thursday as President Donald Trump headed home empty handed from his talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam.

Trump said he walked away from a deal because of Kim’s demands to lift all U.S.-led sanctions on North Korea in return for the denuclearization of its Yongbyon atomic complex but not others that the United States knows about.

In contrast, North Korea’s foreign minister said Pyongyang offered to dismantle Yongbyon in return for a partial lifting of sanctions as a step toward better relations between the nations, technically still at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

RelatedPosts

Myanmar Junta Opposes Timor Leste’s ASEAN Membership

Myanmar Junta Opposes Timor Leste’s ASEAN Membership

July 2, 2025
2.3k
From Foreign Policy Drift to Diplomatic Freefall in Myanmar

From Foreign Policy Drift to Diplomatic Freefall in Myanmar

July 1, 2025
2.3k
Thai Diplomacy Is Now in Need of a Reset

Thai Diplomacy Is Now in Need of a Reset

June 27, 2025
640

Before the summit, there were hints Washington was open to declaring an end to the war, some sanctions relief, and opening of liaison offices, a first step toward diplomatic ties, if the North reined in its nuclear program.

The fear of many in the U.S. national security establishment was that Trump would give up too much in return for too little and they were pleased that did not happen. There was still concern in Washington, however, about what the summit’s collapse would mean for future nuclear diplomacy with North Korea.

Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said the summit’s failure had eased fears that Trump, anxious to claim a foreign policy success, might have made an agreement that dispelled the North Korean nuclear-armed missile threat to the continental United States, but not the threat of its shorter-range missiles to U.S. regional allies, such as Japan.

“The general feeling was that all President Trump wants is a scalp to hang on the wall, like he did with calling the Singapore nothing-burger a great victory,” said Armitage, referring to Trump’s first summit with Kim in June 2018.

That produced a vague statement of Kim’s pledge to work toward denuclearization of the Korean peninsula but little progress followed.

Trump’s defenders have long said he had no intention of giving ground to Kim at their second meeting in Hanoi this week without major North Korean concessions.

They said Trump planned to use the rapport he claims with Kim and negotiating skills honed as a real estate developer to secure the best possible deal despite skepticism from critics who question whether he is up to speed on the main issues.

Mark Dubowitz of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank rejected criticism that Trump came up empty, tweeting: “Actually walking away from a bad proposed deal is exactly what we’d expect from a competent deal-maker.”

It had appeared Trump was moving toward offering Pyongyang concessions on a peace deal, sanctions and liaison offices in return for “promises to make promises to move toward (nuclear) disablement and dismantlement,” a congressional aide said on condition of anonymity. “There is a certain sigh of relief in that respect.”

Nuclear analysts estimate North Korea may have a nuclear arsenal of 20 to 60 weapons which, if mated with intercontinental ballistic missiles it has developed, could threaten the U.S. mainland.

The collapse of the summit leaves Kim in possession of that arsenal though Trump said the North Korean leader had agreed to maintain his moratorium on nuclear and ballistic missile tests.

The United States has long resisted offering the North a formal end to the war regarding this as a concession that should not be made until Pyongyang abandoned its nuclear arms. U.S. intelligence officials have said there is no sign North Korea would ever give up its entire arsenal of nuclear weapons, which Kim’s ruling family sees as vital to its survival.

An end to the war could also have spurred demands from North Korea for the United States to withdraw some of its 28,500 troops from South Korea, where they serve as a trip wire to deter a North Korean invasion.

Trump, who has questioned the value of keeping the troops there, made clear before the summit that removing them was off the table, another source of relief for those who believe their withdrawal could embolden the North and endanger the South.

One of the ironies that experts pointed out was that in failure, Trump may actually have had a success.

It may also have been a victory for hawkish White House national security adviser John Bolton, who has pressed for Washington to maintain its “maximum pressure” sanctions campaign intact while demanding Pyongyang’s full denuclearization.

Even Adam Schiff, the Democrat who chairs the House Intelligence Committee and is one of Trump’s main critics in Congress, offered qualified praise.

“President Trump’s decision to walk away from the summit with North Korea without an agreement was preferable to making a bad deal,” he said.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: International RelationsNorth KoreaNuclearUS
Reuters

Reuters

...

Similar Picks:

The Uncertain Future of Myanmar’s Rakhine State
Guest Column

The Uncertain Future of Myanmar’s Rakhine State

by David Scott Mathieson
March 19, 2025
9.6k

The Arakan Army must now consolidate its unprecedented territorial gains in Rakhine State and contend with humanitarian, intercommunal and international...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta Will Continue to Use Chemical Weapons: MNDAA 
Burma

Myanmar Junta Will Continue to Use Chemical Weapons: MNDAA 

by Hein Htoo Zan
November 27, 2023
8k

The Ta'ang National Liberation Army and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army say the regime is repeatedly dropping chemical bombs in...

Read moreDetails
Elon Musk Calls for Closure of Radio Free Europe, Voice of America
World

Elon Musk Calls for Closure of Radio Free Europe, Voice of America

by Naung Naung
February 10, 2025
7.1k

The billionaire’s call to shut down the US-funded media organizations, which reach hundreds of millions of people globally, follows his...

Read moreDetails
US Red-Faced as Contractor Lists Myanmar Resistance Groups in Terrorism Index
Myanmar’s Crisis & the World

US Red-Faced as Contractor Lists Myanmar Resistance Groups in Terrorism Index

by The Irrawaddy
December 12, 2023
5.5k

State Dept. contractor Development Services Group (DSG)'s inclusion of ethnic armies and PDFs in an annex to a US global...

Read moreDetails
The Righteous Vs. Forces of Darkness in Myanmar in 2023 
Specials

The Righteous Vs. Forces of Darkness in Myanmar in 2023 

by The Irrawaddy
December 27, 2023
5.3k

The Irrawaddy looks back at 10 key forces that shaped Myanmar during a year that brought continued suffering to the...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar’s Resistance Is Getting the China Question Wrong
Guest Column

Myanmar’s Resistance Is Getting the China Question Wrong

by Htet Min Lwin and Thiha Wint Aung
December 30, 2024
5.2k

Claims that China is fully committed to supporting the junta are overblown and risk pushing it closer to the junta....

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
People chant slogans as they burn an effigy depicting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after Pakistan shot down two Indian military aircrafts, according to Pakistani officials, in Peshawar, Pakistan, on Thursday. / Reuters

Social Media Fake News Fans Tension Between India and Pakistan

The logo of Genpact is seen on the facade of its building in Bengaluru, India, on January 29, 2019. / REUTERS 

Some Facebook Content Reviewers in India Complain of Low Pay, High Pressure

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

37 Years and Counting: Why Has Myanmar’s Democracy Struggle Taken So Long?

37 Years and Counting: Why Has Myanmar’s Democracy Struggle Taken So Long?

1 week ago
1.4k
China’s Surveillance State Watches Everyone, Everywhere

China’s Surveillance State Watches Everyone, Everywhere

2 days ago
771

Most Read

  • Chin Resistance Tensions Boil Over as CNA Seizes Rival’s Myanmar HQ

    Chin Resistance Tensions Boil Over as CNA Seizes Rival’s Myanmar HQ

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • ‘Reforms Are Not Optional’: Prominent Activist Urges NUG to Act Before It’s Too Late

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta’s Top Russian Arms Supplier Tosses in Quake ‘Donation’

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Starves Last Rakhine Strongholds as AA Closes In

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.