Donald Trump & Kim Jong-un Meet At Historic Summit, Leaders Sign Joint Statement [FULL TEXT]

President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un came together in an unprecedented meeting June 12 and left five hours later with a “special bond” of newfound friendship and a vague denuclearization plan.

The lead-up to the Singapore summit was as tumultuous as the relationship between Trump and Kim, one filled with uncertainty, name-calling and periods of great anger. The exact details of the meeting were scant, even though Trump spoke with reporters for more than an hour following the meeting.

The president said he will be suspending military exercises with South Korea – these exercises had greatly incensed the North – and in turn he expects to see the disarmament of Kim’s nuclear arsenal “very quickly.” Economic sanctions against North Korea will, however, remain in place until the North did more.

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While waiting to see if Kim will follow through on promises of disarmament that he had previously made and broken will take years, Trump seems willing to gamble that he will be able to make the North Korean leader follow through. The president’s concession to halt military exercises – calling them “very expensive” and “very provocative” despite saying they were important and non-negotiable in the recent past – reportedly took South Korea by surprise.

“We both want to do something. We both are going to do something. And we have developed a very special bond,” Trump said following the conclusion of the summit. “People are going to be very impressed. People are going to be very happy.”

The two leaders signed a joint statement in a televised meeting. The document said Kim “reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.” In exchange, the United States will “provide security guarantees” to North Korea. There was, however, no timetable in the statement nor any verification measures.

The statement also said that the two countries will hold “follow-on negotiations” led by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and a high-level North Korean official “at the earliest possible date, to implement the outcomes” of the meeting. They will also aim to “build a lasting and stable peacetime regime,” meaning a potential ultimate goal of ending the Korean War.

Trump came to the meeting with a video he had commissioned to convince Kim to relinquish his weapons and open North Korea to outside investment, according to CNN. Trump played the video on an iPad.

When asked if Kim had agreed to denuclearization, Trump said, “We’re starting that process very quickly – very, very quickly – absolutely.” He later declared that, “Working together, we will get it taken care of.”

Kim responded with, “There will be challenges ahead, but we will work with Trump.”

Below is the full text of the signed document, courtesy of CNN.

President Donald J. Trump of the United States of America and Chairman Kim Jong Un of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) held a first, historic summit in Singapore on June 12, 2018.

President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong Un conducted a comprehensive, in-depth and sincere exchange of opinions on the issues related to the establishment of new US-DPRK relations and the building of a lasting and robust peace regime on the Korean Peninsula. President Trump committed to provide security guarantees to the DPRK, and Chairman Kim Jong Un reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Convinced that the establishment of new US-DPRK relations will contribute to the peace and prosperity of the Korean Peninsula and of the world, and recognizing that mutual confidence building can promote the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong Un state the following:

1. The United States and the DPRK commit to establish new US-DPRK relations in accordance with the desire of the peoples of the two countries for peace and prosperity.
2. The United States and DPRK will join their efforts to build a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.
3. Reaffirming the April 27, 2018 Panmunjom Declaration, the DPRK commits to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula
4. The United States and the DPRK commit to recovering POW/MIA remains, including the immediate repatriation of those already identified.

Article by Kaitlyn Martin

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