For a brief, shining moment it actually looked like Donald Trump, of all people, was going to be the one to clumsily broker peace between North and South Korea, and bring own the simmering tensions between the DPRK and the United States. There were even like three days of the news cycle where people were actually pontificating on whether Trump should get a Nobel Prize.
But that’s over now, and it’s increasingly looking like Trump was played like a fool by a leader who realised that he was incredibly susceptible to being buttered up. Trump just announced that the planned historic summit between himself and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore is officially cancelled.
A letter from the President to Chairman Kim Jong Un: “It is inappropriate, at this time, to have this long-planned meeting.” pic.twitter.com/3dDIp55xu1
— The White House 45 Archived (@WhiteHouse45) May 24, 2018
In the letter, Trump points to what he describes as “tremendous anger and open hostility” from North Korea in their latest statement.
“I hope that Kim Jong-un will ultimately do what is right, not only for himself, but perhaps most importantly what’s right for his people, who are suffering greatly and needlessly.”
Earlier in the day, the North Korean government rebuked Trump and vice president Mike Pence over “stupid” comments comparing their country’s situation to Libya.
A statement published through North Korea’s state-run media said that the country was fully willing to pull out of the meeting with Trump, and raised the spectre of nuclear confrontation.
We will neither beg the US for dialogue nor take the trouble to persuade them if they do not want to sit together with us.
Whether the US will meet us at a meeting room or encounter us at nuclear-to-nuclear showdown is entirely dependent upon the decision and behaviour of the United States.
Because Trump can’t resist a little sabre-rattling, his letter cancelling the meeting describes the United States’ nuclear arsenal as “massive and powerful” and prays “they will never have to be used.”
South Korean President Moon Jae-in expressed concern and disappointment that the US cancelled the summit, which could very well have represented a historic cooling of tensions on the Korean peninsula.
“I am very perplexed and it is very regrettable the North Korea-US summit will not be held on June 12 when it was scheduled to be held,” Mr Moon was quoted as saying.
He also urged that talks between Trump and Kim should proceed, and that the cancellation of the meeting shouldn’t prevent efforts toward denuclearising the Korean peninsula from proceeding.
So that’s that. Put the Nobel Prize back in the cupboard, folks. Might be a while.
