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Recently, the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un has invited President Donald Trump to discuss issues that need to be confronted. The White House press secretary, Sarah Sanders said last Friday, "President Donald Trump will not meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un unless North Korea takes 'concrete and verifiable actions' towards denuclearization". Later, the South Korean national security adviser stated Kim is "committed to denuclearization", but no further proof did not backup the adviser's statement. If this meeting is carried out, it could possibly produce a problematic situation. This meeting could also benefit the world in general because if President Donald Trump meets Kim Jong Un, it could disable the threat of nuclear weapons from North Korea.
Discussion Questions:
1. What political issues do you think will be discussed at this meeting?
2. Do you think North Korea will completely denuclearize?
3. How do you think the other countries will react to the current situation?
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ReplyDeleteI personally have reservations about a meeting between Kim Jong Un and Trump, which I believe is more a publicity stunt by North Korea to gain more support from the other countries. With such larger-than-life personalities on both sides, an actual deal is highly unlikely. There is absolutely no way that North Korea will completely denuclearize unless the US commits to our own cuts as well, which is highly unlikely with this administration, although Trump is characteristically unpredictable. Nonetheless, despite the low probability of a real agreement being forged, this meeting will definitely be watched closely by the rest of the world as it could either go very well and lead to change or end disastrously with the two countries getting closer and closer to the brink of a nuclear war.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that its unlikely these two leaders will get together for a meeting because of their recent tensions. If they do I'd say nuclear weapons will be mentioned and other military business. I would also agree that it seems impossible North Korea will completely denuclearize since other countries like the US have access to nuclear weapons just as easily. Unless every single country denuclearizes, any country will feel the need to have their own. Since a face to dace meeting of Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump would be too good to be true I assume other countries are really interested in this. Everyone will hope that if they do meet, it will be a successful negotiation and issues can be solved.
ReplyDeleteI also agree to your statement. It is unlikely for the two leaders to get together to discuss recent problems because they both have very different opinions towards issues. Also many people state that these two leaders are very autocratic in a way so the meetup could be disastrous.
DeleteHonestly I don't see this meeting ever taking place. If it does happen then I don't see any diplomatic advantages coming from it. The US doesn't currently have a relationship with North Korea and if that were to change then other measures would need to be put in place. Both leaders are very headstrong and based off their passed encounters, it's unrealistic to assume that they would be able to come together without conflict.
ReplyDeleteWhile this is the first meeting of its kind, I don't believe that it would actually lead to North Korea denuclearizing. North Korea has had nuclear weapons and has been testing for these weapons for a little over a decade now, and because of North Korea's strong emphasis on military and their showcase of that power, I doubt a single meeting would actually be able to cause North Korea to go against what they've shown are their beliefs. North Korea has also announced multiple times in the past that they would denuclearize, but it was never fully worked out, and never ended up in actual treaties or legislation. Taking this into account as well as Trump's track record with negotiations with other foreign leaders, I don't believe that this meeting will end in an agreement to denuclearize.
ReplyDeleteIf this meeting does even happen in the first place, I find it unlikely that much will be done at this meeting. Based on the personalities of both leaders, I do not see much being accomplished. Both seem to feel entitled to keep their point of view on this large and powerful decision. If anything has to be done, both leaders need to keep their ego out of the decision and understand where their people come from and how their decision can affect the entire world compared to their personal lives. If both decide to keep a closed mindset and not listen to each other, it is likely we could end up in a nuclear war. I think that this meeting needs to be closely watched upon in case some large argument comes up that could lead us to a horrible ending. In the end, we all hope a peaceful consensus can be agreed upon and that nothing major happens.
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ReplyDeleteI think that if this meeting is put into place, not much trust will be present between the two leaders. I doubt that Kim Jung Un would totally denuclearize North Korea, just for a good image and a relationship with the US. They have been producing and perfecting nuclear weapons for a long time now, and a simple meeting is not worth stopping it. The two leaders also have very different views and don't seem likely to agree on something. Additionally, I think other countries won't see this meeting as anything helpful or smart, as they should know how Un and Trump together would go down.
ReplyDeleteWhile the POTUS is aiming for deals on denuclearization, I think that the DPRK might be pushing for negotiations on lifting sanctions. If this were to carry out, the relations between US and DPRK could worsen because from the Trump’s administration’s perspective, sanctions can only be lifted after denuclearization and not vice versa- which is what North Korea wants. In concurrence with Kevin, I also think that a major factor of North Korea’s denuclearization is the US’s as well. I would like to point out that while the US’s direct meeting with North Korea seems intriguing, in 2006 the Six Party Talks for initiated, and it ultimately lead to failure. I emphasize the difficulty of two different types of governments making an agreement with different interests in mind. Addressing question 3, I think that this is North Korea’s way of gaining support of surrounding Asian nations, especially that of China. China conducts in a large percentage of North Korean trade, and one of the main reasons why China engages in diplomatic relations with the DPRK it because that it is how it maintains its stability. Hence, denuclearization sounds completely ideal to the PRC, but North Korea has been known to use their nuclear weapons countless times as a way to show their power and dominance to the world.
ReplyDeleteThe tensions will only increase if Trump decides to meet up with Kim Jung Un. As in a previous meeting, Kim Jung Un said insulting things to Trump resulting in Trump tweeting about how Kim Jung Un was short and fat. This led to the dictator feeling very insulted and violated and he ended up issuing a death threat against President Trump. This clearly shows the childish acts of the two and if there is a possibility of them meeting up the world could be in big trouble just because of the insults they use against one another. Currently as there is no evidence for Jong Un declaring that he will have North Korea denuclearized there is no sure say that we can trust him especially after he sentenced Trump to a death penalty after Trump insulted him. It is evident that Jung Un takes comments very personally and if Trump says any bad things against Jung Un then this could result in a worldwide nuclear war.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/nov/15/north-korea-sentences-trump-to-death-for-insulting-kim-jong-un
2) Hopefully that is the case, however that is a conversation that will take more than just one sitting. North Korea has spent a lot of time and money on creating these nuclear bombs and won't just denuclearize in one sit. There will mostly be talk on settling any arguments and could possibly start a small alliance with the US. Going back to the denuclearization, I feel like the two leaders will release tensions and any arguments they had but I have the feeling that there will be a very slight discussion about actually getting rid of the nuclear weapons. Looking on the bright side, it is a good thing that these two leaders are meeting and having a discussion rather than fight. This is a good step forward and hopefully lead to a better future
ReplyDeleteThe meeting will likely focus on North Korean denuclearization and surface-level statements posturing a friendlier relationship between the US and North Korea. However, as the two countries are fundamentally opposed in ideology, and as Trump is infamously ill-equipped to discuss policy, I don't believe anything concrete will come from the meeting (besides exciting the leaders' choleric tempers). In my opinion, least likely would be North Korea fully denuclearizing. The Kim regime probably sees nuclear weapons as the last wall of defense for their sovereignty against an invasion of western democratic ideals. North Korea is justifiably wary, as the US was not above interfering in Korean affairs for the sake of democracy in the past (as evidenced by the 1950s proxy war). Despite all of this, the rest of the world will keep a close eye on this meeting for two reasons: 1) if it goes terribly south, they need to prepare the bunkers, and 2) the whole situation with Trump, compounded by this meeting, is like a circus act/train wreck to the rest of the world; they just can't look away.
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ReplyDeleteIn the meeting, Kim Jong-Un and President Donald Trump, hopefully both will agree on denuclearizing North Korea. But, because of the personality of the President that have been shown in the past, it's hard to say if Kim Jong-Un will agree on denuclearization. Even if they meet, it's hard to say what will the dictator of North Korea will do, because he has shown his power of his nuclear bombs, and now wants to make a meeting with the president. If North Korea agrees to denuclearizing, many other countries,especially the countries that are near them, would like if they denuclearize because they didn't feel safe with threats from them. South Korea would one of the nations who would be happy with the disarming of nuclear bombs since both have had a difficult history.
ReplyDeleteI think it is important that bridge between North Korea and the United States of America is built, however, I do worry about the level of trust and/or cooperation that will be present at the meeting. The first challenge would be to merely schedule and choreograph such a meeting, especially because of the lack of trust between the two leaders. While North Korea may promise denuclearization, Kim Jong Un is in no way credible so the goals the US wants achieved may not be accomplished after a mere meeting. I still think it is important we begin to open relations with North Korea, and I believe that other countries will support a meeting between North Korea and the US, especially if possible denuclearization is at stake.
ReplyDeleteI do not think that North Korea truly wants to denuclearize, but they do want to avoid the criticism of the international community. I think they will try to undergo a fake denuclearize where they ceremoniously disassemble a few nukes while building many more. I think Kim Jong Un sees nuclear weapons as their only hope to avoid war with South Korea, as a war with South Korea without nuclear weapons would be a quick loss to South Korean forces backed by the US, but with nuclear weapons they could at least threaten millions of casualties. The best path forward is to encourage them to take route similar to that of China, where China began as an inexorably Communist country, they are now shifting towards more and more capitalist and democratic ideals. If North Korea could be moved in a similar direction, democratization could remove the issue of nuclear weapons by making their holders more fit to use them.
ReplyDeleteI believe that if the meeting is followed through with, it'll be very important on how the rest of the North Korea/US situation carries out. If progress is made,the denuclearization of North Korea will be vital on settling tensions between the two heated countries. Though I don't believe that'll necessarily happen that easily, because I don't think that Kim Jong Un will agree on denuclearizing North Korea just because of one meeting. I do hope friendlier relations can come out of the meeting, but it would take a lot of cooperation from both sides, and I think that'll take time and effort.
ReplyDeleteNorth Korea is a danger to stability in Asia, even more so now that their nuclear capabilities are truly developed. In previous meetings with countries looking to prevent further nuclear development, nuclearization was an "if". Now, it is a scary certainty that give Kim Jong Un the bargaining chips he needs to make real demands. The danger of the meeting is that both leaders have a history of being obstinate and petulant, qualities which are detrimental to peaceful settlements. There is a real posiblility that, as Janet so eloquently stated, the meeting will only rile up their infamous tempers and further deteriorate the relationship. One step forward, two steps back. However, this meeting could also legitimize the brutal North Korean regime to other countries, a step which could give Kim Jong Un even more leverage.
ReplyDeleteThis meeting is very important especially accounting all the back and forth threats each company is giving each other. While this is very important this might not be the case seeing how trump is handling this situation currently its just the CIA and Popeo who are looking into the situation and other statistics. But, i think what the Trump administration really should be doing is to have a meeting with congress perhaps or other leaders to talk about what the agenda would be, the main focus and things like that. I think it's very likely that this would happen especially seeing how enthusiastic the President is about making this happen. I'm sure a huge topic would be nuclearization I think that DPRK will not be willing to denuclearize and their main goal throughout the discussion would be gaining national sovereignty.
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