Trump-Kim Vietnam 2nd Summit: More Hype, Photo Ops, Fluff But Not Much Else

Let's go in here: Sound-proof room, no notes, no press

(My English is good, your Korean is nil)

Ever since he met Kim Jong-Un in Singapore last year, Trump has shown a tendency the North Korean leader is sure to try and exploit: Making unexpected concessions out of their expected in one-on-one meeting(s).

Meeting Site: The Hanoi Government Guest House

(February 27-28, 2019)

From Bloomberg and Raw Story here in part are key part following that Singapore first meeting:

1. There was the December phone call with Turkey’s president, when Trump surprised his own aides – and prompted Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to resign – by suddenly agreeing to pull troops out of Syria.

2.  Then last year’s joint press conference with Putin, when Trump all but dismissed his own intelligence community’s findings on Russian hacking of the 2016 election.

Heading into next week’s summit with Kim in Hanoi, the president’s top advisers will seek to ensure no last-minute giveaways happen this time around. But for North Korea, the president’s habit of making concessions on the fly presents an opportunity that’s likely to lead negotiators from Pyongyang to disregard the president’s staff to focus on what he might offer.

From Christopher Hill, North Korea negotiator under President George W. Bush: “They do look to get President Trump in a room and see what they might get out of him. If Singapore is any indication, the president seeks to want to negotiate everything himself.”

My 2 cents: NK still has nukes – maybe no more flights and tests, but serious threat still remains and knowing NK’s awful history since 1953 —when the Korean War ended with a ceasefire and not much else — caution is therefore the operative word. 

This second Trump-Kim meeting is apt to follow the Trump-Putin one-on-one meetings in Helsinki when there were no Americans present and no notes kept; only a translator, and also no notes per se. All in all, this is not a pretty picture by any measurement.

As we know Trump claims to be the best negotiator ever – but his record to date speaks a totally different version than his mere bragging rights. This second meeting with Kim will top Singapore for sure. 

But, that remains to be seen, so stay tuned.

BTW: Trump finally goes to Vietnam, bone spurs be damned and only 50 years later.

Thanks for stopping by.