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South Korean President Moon Jae-in (right) and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un before their summit meeting in the demilitarised zone, in the South’s border village of Panmunjom, on April 27. The summit marked the first time a North Korean leader had crossed into the South since the end of hostilities during the Korean war, and set the stage for Kim’s meeting with the US president. Photo: EPA-EFE
OpinionLetters

Trump should win the Nobel Prize, if North Korea peace deal goes through

Donald Trump
Letters
Letters
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When Donald Trump won the 2016 Republican primary in Iowa, I started my literary protest against everything his campaign stood for. I even called Iowans who voted for him treasonous. Rarely have I missed an opportunity to criticise his policies.

That said, I believe that Trump is on the verge of doing something that would merit the Nobel Peace Prize. 

If he is able to negotiate a peace deal with North Korea, by getting them to stop their nuclear weapons programme, there is no reason he would not deserve this prestigious honour. 

Can anyone imagine a more important goal right now than to establish a working relationship with North Korea or getting the rogue nation to give up its nuclear ambitions? 

Anyone who is seriously thinking about the problem of a nuclear North Korea understands the immense victory for humanity it would be if Kim Jong-un took measures to establish a diplomatic relationship with the outside world.

Kim Jong-un says he is ‘committed to Korean denuclearisation’ 

If Trump is able to meet the North Korean ruler with a plan that satisfies that country’s perceived need to be safe, that would be an incredible achievement for world peace and prosperity. Besides, far less notable recipients have been awarded the Nobel. Here in America, the names Woodrow Wilson, Cordell Hull, and Henry Kissinger come readily to mind.

I call upon my fellow progressive liberals to support the president if he has real peace on his agenda. It doesn’t matter how much he has messed up in the past. The past does not need to dictate the future. 

The stakes are simply too high to allow short-sighted disagreements to get in the way of a deal that brings North Korea back from the nuclear ledge. 

Inter-Korean summit could help clarify denuclearisation process ahead of Kim-Trump talks

To reiterate, if President Trump is aiming for world stability and to help the Korean people, that would be the single most positive revolutionary change in the world situation today.

Put simply: the time to get on board the peace train is now. Any effort at creative dialogue is better than unchecked military hostility, sabre-rattling, economic sanctions, and a total breakdown in communication between our two nations.

George Cassidy Payne, adjunct professor, State University of New York

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Trump should get Nobel Prize if denuclearisation deal manifests with North Korea
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