For Japan and South Korea, nuclear threat far from over
Despite what the US president claims, the Kim regime remains as dangerous as ever. While the summit deal is reason for optimism, the reality is Pyongyang has broken promises to disarm before
The difference between reality and rhetoric has been obvious ever since Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump held their historic meeting in Singapore. The American president tweeted upon returning to the United States that the world could now rest easy as “there is no longer a nuclear threat from North Korea”.
But East Asians, especially South Koreans and Japanese, know otherwise; the document the two leaders signed was vague and has done nothing to lessen the threat from Pyongyang’s bombs and missiles.
Only when the sides have worked out details, including a timetable for Pyongyang to dismantle its arsenal, submit to inspections and verification, and begin the process of decommissioning, can the region indeed rest easier.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has taken the path of realism in briefing President Xi Jinping and his Chinese, Japanese and South Korean counterparts.
He contradicted North Korean state media suggestions that international sanctions would soon be rolled back, contending they would remain until there was complete denuclearisation.