Summit Eve in Singapore
by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)
Trump regime hardliners are militantly hostile to North Korea, wanting everything their way in return for empty promises - the way Washington virtually always operates in dealings with friends and foes.
Neocon extremists in charge of Trump’s geopolitical policymaking demand “complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula…the only outcome (they) find acceptable,” according to Washington’s chief (undiplomatic) diplomat - Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Ahead of summit talks, he said “(u)ntil we achieve our goals,” US policy toward North Korea remains unchanged, no carrots extended, no even-handedness, no show of good will, no flexibility, no respect for DPRK sovereign rights - no chance for a “new era” in bilateral US/Pyongyang relations.
Believing otherwise is fanciful - unrealistically thinking what no previous US administration achieved is possible with the most extremist in its history empowered.
Trump’s claim about denuclearization leading to “long and enduring prosperity and peace” for North Korea is belied by US history of broken promises, including in earlier dealings with the DPRK.
Ahead of Kim Jong-un/Trump June 12 summit talks, Pompeo tweeted the following after meeting with North Korean officials in Singapore on Sunday: “Substantive and detailed meetings in #Singapore today” ahead of Tuesday’s summit.
Kim reportedly is accompanied by DPRK Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho, Defense Minister No Kwang Chol, his sister and close advisor Kim Yo-jong, among others.
North Korea’s state-run KCNA news said “(d)iscussions will focus on “building a permanent and durable peace-keeping mechanism on the Korean peninsula, the issue of realizing the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and other issues of mutual concern.”
Pyongyang surely won’t agree to unilateral denuclearization without firm US and world community security guarantees, a roadmap for lifting unacceptable sanctions, respect for its sovereign rights, a peace treaty formally ending the 1950s war, clear steps toward normalizing relations with the West and regional countries, and reportedly the removal of Washington’s “nuclear umbrella,” allegedly protecting South Korea and Japan.
Trump calling summit talks a “mission of peace” is belied by ongoing US naked aggression in multiple theaters, North Korea a longtime target for regime change.
World peace and stability defeat Washington’s imperial aims. Endless wars serve it. The chance for stepping back from the brink on the Korean peninsula is virtually nil.
Nor is it coming regionally, China the main US target for regime change, North Korea a sideshow by comparison.
Tuesday summit talks are scheduled to begin at 9:00AM local time, how long they’ll continue uncertain, Trump returning to Washington on Wednesday.
Follow-up talks come next, possibly including South Korea, China and maybe Russia. According to the South Korean broadsheet Chosun Ilbo, Kim invited Trump to Pyongyang for further summit talks in July.
Japan’s Kyodo news agency said a September third round of talks may be scheduled in
Washington, depending on how earlier ones go.
According to South Korean President Moon Jae-in, Kim Jong-un is justifiably skeptical about US intentions, saying he’s “worried about whether he can trust that the US will end the policy of hostility and guarantee the stability of his” nation.
Given Washington’s rage for global dominance, wanting all sovereign independent nations transformed into US vassal states, he has great cause for concern.
America’s hostility toward the DPRK throughout its history won’t change following Tuesday and follow-up talks.
At best, only the illusion of a new era on the Korean peninsula is possible - not the real thing Pyongyang seeks, denuclearization unlikely without it.
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