There used to be a raillery of threat to one another…..it went to such an extent that they earned nicknames of the ‘madman’ and the ‘little rocket man’. None could imagine that they would ever sit at the same table, together. The global community is pleasantly surprised at the announcement of the White House that President Donald Trump would meet Kim Jong-un of North Korea in May.
A South Korean delegation recently got to meet President Trump at the White House. Chung Eui-Yong, a member of the delegation and South Korea’s National Security Adviser, urged the president to meet Kim. Chung claimed that the North Korean leader was ready to discuss “nuclear weapons and missile tests” with President Trump.
Sarah Sanders, the Press Secretary of the White House, informed the media that although the meeting would take place in May end, the two sides were yet to finalise the date and venue. This piece of information was enough!
Speculations have been high about the ‘extraordinary’ meeting, a first between the two countries since the Korean War (June 25, 1950 – July 27, 1953). The whole world is eagerly waiting for the sensational moment in the History of Diplomacy.

In recent past, President Trump and North Korean supreme leader Kim got involved in a verbal duel, thus, creating a Cold War-like situation. Former CIA chief and Secretary of Defence Leon Panetta called the upcoming meeting between the two leaders a “positive step”…. He stated: “I think the world is breathing a sigh of relief as a result of having these negotiations, and even having this kind of meeting. I think all of that is good news.” Diplomats believe that it will be a tough test for President Trump. North Korea wants to be recognised at the global stage and this meeting will create that opportunity for Pyongyang.
Experts are of the opinion that the North Korean leader has every right to consider the development as a major diplomatic victory and a huge boost to his legitimacy. However, diplomats are worried about him, as till date, he has not held a meeting with any world leader. At least, there is no such evidence. President Trump, too, has got an opportunity to snatch a victory, but for that, he will have to understand the historic diplomatic equation. He will have to control his ‘instinct’ and play safe.
Another important factor is that the two countries don’t ‘trust’ one another. A senior Pentagon official, who wished to remain anonymous, said that both Washington and Pyongyang would have to show restraint in order to agree on any particular issue.

S Korean president & Kim

South Korean President Moon Jae-in is very much excited about this ‘historic’ meeting, as he described the upcoming meeting as an “unprecedented” event. China, popularly known as North Korea’s best ally, has greeted the Trump-Kim talks with hope and trepidation, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang saying that Beijing was pleased with the “positive signals”. He also said: “We commend and will support the efforts made by all sides to solve this issue through dialogue and discussion. We hope all sides can show the political courage needed to make political decisions and start multilateral or bilateral meetings and to advance the process of peacefully resolving the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula. China will continue to make efforts on this.”
Although the Trump-Kim summit is all set to change the equation of other key players, all depends on the two men’s sense of drama, and reality.

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/boundlessoceanofpolitics/

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Google Plus:
https://plus.google.com/+KoushikDasboundless

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/kousdas?s=09

Contact us: kousdas@gmail.com

Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das