Donald Trump, Kim Jong-un pledge peace and security at Singapore summit but doubt surrounds denuclearisation pact
After their nearly five-hour summit, the US president promised ‘security guarantees’ to Pyongyang and announced war games with South Korea would cease
United States President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un hailed their historic summit on Tuesday as a breakthrough for peace on the Korean peninsula, but questions immediately emerged over the sketchiness of the pact they signed and whether Pyongyang would actually surrender its nuclear arsenal any time soon.
China, North Korea’s most important ally, mooted sanctions relief for the hermit kingdom within hours of the meeting, which Foreign Minister Wang Yi described as “creating a new history”.
After their nearly five-hour summit at Singapore’s Sentosa island resort, Trump and Kim sealed a deal that saw the US president pledge “security guarantees” to Pyongyang, while the isolated regime’s young leader “reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula”.
Read the full text of the Trump-Kim agreement
As a barrage of camera flashbulbs went off at the signing ceremony, Trump declared the two leaders, who once poured vitriol on each other, had now formed a “special bond”.
In a press conference two hours later, Trump revealed one key detail omitted in the text of the accord: the termination of US military exercises with its stalwart ally, South Korea.
The war games have long irked Pyongyang, which is technically still at war with the south and the US after the 1950-1953 Korean war.
Seoul, a key supporter of Tuesday’s talks, appeared taken aback by the revelation, with President Moon Jae-in’s spokesman stating that Seoul needed clarity on the “precise meaning” of Trump’s remarks.