By Quentin Livingston
The 2019 summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un resulted in no new deals or changes to the existing conflict.
U.S. President Donald Trump landed in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Air Force One while North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un arrived to the city in an armoured train and private limousine on Tuesday, February 26, 2019. They arrived for their second personal meeting, which started the next day, following their previous summit in June of 2018. The goals of the second summit were to work towards denuclearization of North Korea and to strengthen relations between the two nations and leaders. When asked if this summit will bring an official end to the Korean War, which was partially resolved in 1953 with an armistice but not an official peace treaty, President Trump simply responded, “We’ll see”.
Day one of the summit was an introduction to the event, beginning with the two men greeting each other with a handshake and small talk that overall seemed to reflect a positive tone. According to USA Today and the Washington Post, Trump stated that he has a “great relationship” with Kim Jong-un, while Kim stated that the summit’s outcome “will be welcomed by all people” and that he would “do my best to make it happen”. Trump then met with Vietnamese leaders, including Vietnamese president Nguyen Phu Trong, to mainly discuss trade between their two nations. Trump then thanked the leaders for their hospitality “because you really are an example as to what can happen, with good thinking”, according to USA Today. Meanwhile, Kim and several North Korean officials toured Vietnam’s Halong Bay as well as an industrial site. The two then met up again later that night having a private one-on-one meeting and a dinner. However, what was discussed during the meeting is unclear, as it was confidential information to reporters.
Day two, however, saw no new deal made and raised questions on how relations between the U.S. and North Korea would be in the future. The original schedule of the day was for the two leaders to have a private one-on-one meeting for forty-five minutes, then allow aids to be present for a further two hours, followed by the men having lunch, and lastly the men would engage in a joint agreement signing ceremony. President Trump would then hold a press conference before flying back to Washington. The leaders however found disagreement in their initial meeting. Trump summarized the conflict by explaining how Kim wanted all the sanctions imposed by the United Nations to be lifted, while denuclearizing a large part of the Korean Peninsula. Trump however proposed complete denuclearization, and only then would he remove the sanctions. The men, finding no compromise, decided to end the meeting at that moment and cancel the future scheduled events that day. When describing it, Trump stated, “This wasn’t a walkaway like you get up and walk out. No, this was very friendly. We shook hands. … There’s a warmth that we have, and I hope that stays. I think it will. But we’re positioned to do something very special” and “We had some options, but at this time we decided not to do any of the options. Sometimes you have to walk, and this was just one of those times”, according to the Washington Post. The two then left Vietnam without lunch and without signing any deal that would provide aid to this crisis. This provides insight into how people with conflicting ideologies can meet and discuss in person in a respectful manner with little to no hostility, which is reminiscent of how TBLS discipuli act in seminar, with all of our conflicting viewpoints and arguments.