Washington and Pyongyang expressed optimism that the historic meeting between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Tuesday in Singapore would be a success.
That would be the first summit between leaders of the two countries, which were at the edge of nuclear war last year when Pyongyang demonstrated it was capable of launching long-range ballistic missiles.
Singapore is the farthest Mr Kim has travelled from North Korea since taking power in 2011 after the death of his father, Kim Jong Il.
The summit meeting provides a major propaganda win for the North Korean dictator, giving him huge domestic prestige.
At issue is whether Mr Kim would be willing to abandon the nuclear weapons and missile programmes, which pose an increasing threat to the US and its allies in the region.
South Korean president Moon Jae-in has played a pivotal role in bridging the gap between Pyongyang and Washington. Mr Moon, who has met Mr Kim twice in recent weeks, has made solving the stand-off on the Korean peninsula a central plank of his presidency as Seoul has the most to lose from any conflict given its proximity to the North.
The US goal remains the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation on the Korean peninsula, a process that could take years to complete. North Korea, meanwhile, is seeking concessions from the US such as the lifting of painful economic sanctions, the establishment of diplomatic relations, security guarantees and the removal of the US’s nuclear umbrella over South Korea and Japan, America’s closest allies in the region.
North Korea has said that it is committed to complete denuclearisation, although the regime has provided no further details or a timetable.
Many experts believe that Mr Kim, who announced the completion of North Korea’s nuclear programme late last year, would not give up nuclear weapons as his top priority is the survival of his regime and the nuclear arsenal cements his grip on power.
The Trump administration believes that its “maximum pressure” campaign to squeeze North Korea economically, combined with threats to rain “fire and fury”, is responsible for pushing Pyongyang closer than ever before to giving up its nuclear programme.
If the summit fails, the Trump administration is likely to revert to discussing a potential military strike on North Korea.
Official White House Photos by Joyce N. Boghosian
