Vox - President Trump and Kim Jong Un meet in Singapore for historic summithttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52517/voxv.png2019-09-23T16:50:00-04:00http://www.vox.com/rss/stream/171953052019-09-23T16:50:00-04:002019-09-23T16:50:00-04:00The optimistic case for a US-North Korea deal, explained by a top South Korean official
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<img alt="Moon Chung-in speaks with his arms raised at his office in Seoul." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/QtM4Nrj2tl7GHXuswA_lbriLCzs=/906x0:8153x5435/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/65304068/1131467708.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>In a photo taken on March 14, 2019, Moon Chung-in speaks with AFP at his office in Seoul. | Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Moon Chung-in, a top adviser to South Korean President Moon Jae-in, says there’s an over 70 percent chance of a US-North Korea deal by year’s end.</p> <p id="0j2BYG">A top adviser to South Korean President Moon Jae-in says there’s more than a 70 percent chance the US and North Korea will strike an agreement either on nuclear weapons or their relationship by the year’s end.</p>
<p id="4yhLoO">That’s the main takeaway from my hour-long talk in Seoul last week with <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/2/26/18241737/trump-north-korea-kim-moon-nuclear-deal">Moon Chung-in</a>, who is so trusted by the South Korean leader that he was named the next ambassador to the US this year. He <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-southkorea-usa-diplomacy/south-korea-taps-new-envoy-to-u-s-as-allies-face-north-korea-defense-costs-idUSKCN1UZ05V">declined the offer</a>, choosing instead to remain in his current post as a special aide on national security, foreign affairs, and unification. </p>
<p id="bA0x1t">We spoke in a hotel bar about <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/9/23/20875380/south-korea-north-korea-usa-nuclear-negotiations-moon-unga">South Korea’s displeasure with the Trump administration’s handling of North Korea</a> and Kim Jong Un’s fast-approaching, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/north-koreas-kim-gives-u-s-end-of-year-deadline-on-nuclear-talks-11555111497">end-of-year deadline</a> to sign an agreement with the US. </p>
<p id="0JpLxy">While many experts are skeptical this can happen, Moon says the longtime adversaries will probably make at least a small deal because both President Donald Trump and Kim want one.</p>
<p id="eUln6H">“The two leaders are committed to making a deal, but the proposals of course must be mutually acceptable,” he told me over beers and coffee. “I would say now they are going through the adjustment period of fine tuning their agendas,” meaning both of their expectations are lowering in order to take at least a tiny step forward.</p>
<p id="OQsWku">Moon told me he was speaking only on behalf of himself, not the government, but his thinking no doubt reflects some of the ideas at the highest levels in Seoul. It’s therefore possible President Moon Jae-in (no relation) may have shared that cheery outlook with Trump during their <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/9/23/20875380/south-korea-north-korea-usa-nuclear-negotiations-moon-unga">meeting at the UN</a> on Monday.</p>
<p id="eo5Gdz">Should a deal not materialize by December 31, though, even Moon Chung-in worries that the days of Trump threatening North Korea with “fire and fury” can come roaring back.</p>
<p id="vfNzfK">“If there’s no deal then [North Korea] may start testing long-range missiles again and possibly its seventh nuclear bomb,” he said. “Then we’re back to where we were two years ago: <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2018/2/7/16974772/north-korea-war-trump-kim-nuclear-weapon">bloody noses and threats of war</a>.”</p>
<p id="wtYx3Z">Our conversation, edited for length and clarity, follows.</p>
<h4 id="Wg095O">Alex Ward</h4>
<p id="D0NBEx">During this most recent trip to South Korea I’ve noticed that the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/9/23/20875380/south-korea-north-korea-usa-nuclear-negotiations-moon-unga">government seems particularly upset with how the Trump administration is handling North Korea</a>, primarily because it’s hurting Seoul’s desire to get closer to Pyongyang. Is that a fair assessment on my part?</p>
<h4 id="kDSmtX">Moon Chung-in</h4>
<p id="C3RU9r">The US made sure that South Korea would not get ahead of US-North Korea relations. We have complied with the assumption that the US would make the promised breakthrough.</p>
<p id="q6UItz">But <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/3/4/18249882/trump-kim-summit-north-korea-bolton-cyber-cohen-military">after February’s Hanoi summit</a> — where Trump and Kim met for the second time — there was no progress in US-North Korea relations, so we couldn’t deliver on the <a href="https://www.ncnk.org/sites/default/files/Agreement%20on%20the%20Implementation%20of%20the%20Historic%20Panmunjom%20Declaration%20in%20the%20Military%20Domain.pdf">military</a> and <a href="http://www.mofa.go.kr/eng/brd/m_5478/view.do?seq=319130&srchFr=&amp;srchTo=&amp;srchWord=&amp;srchTp=&amp;multi_itm_seq=0&amp;itm_seq_1=0&amp;itm_seq_2=0&amp;company_cd=&amp;company_nm=&page=1&titleNm">political</a> relationship-building promises we made to Pyongyang. Therefore, for the sake of improved US-South Korea relations, we in fact sacrificed North Korea-South Korea relations. In order to comply with what America wanted, we virtually stopped.</p>
<p id="ZQsJY8">North Korea was really disappointed with South Korea. They basically say “A-ha, South Korea, you got nothing and are a puppet of the United States. Therefore, we’d better talk with the United States directly.” In April, even Chairman <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/15/world/asia/kim-jong-moon-jae.html">Kim Jong Un</a> said that South Korea should not claim it is a “mediator” and shouldn’t use those kinds of words.</p>
<p id="tQGvDf">That is the situation. South Korean government officials got to be really frustrated, and in fact North Korea is now really angry.</p>
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<img alt="Trump and Kim at a table in front of press." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/lTdIz0no-dcz8PgZ83_JUxoonIU=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19225425/1128021035.jpg.jpg">
<cite>Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at their second summit in Hanoi, Vietnam on February 28, 2019.</figcaption>
</figure>
<h4 id="SNcuEA">Alex Ward</h4>
<p id="YhA0Wq">What is the South Korean government saying to the US, then? And is the Trump administration even listening?</p>
<h4 id="v2Wllc">Moon Chung-in</h4>
<p id="fO6VqH"><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-47397699">Yongbyon</a>, arguably North Korea’s most important nuclear facility that Pyongyang offered to dismantle in exchange for sanctions relief in Hanoi, is not really a small deal. It is a big deal, even though the US rejected that proposal. </p>
<p id="0d7uSl">If North Korea is willing to go for the complete, verifiable, and permanent dismantling of its nuclear facilities there, the US should offer corresponding measures such as a possible relaxation of sanctions. That may lead North Korea to reopen the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-22011178">Kaesong Industrial Complex</a> and <a href="https://www.nknews.org/gallery/in-photos-whats-become-of-the-mount-kumgang-tourism-resort/">Mount Kumgang Tourist Project</a>, two important areas for growing inter-Korean relations.</p>
<p id="VopU3c">But I’m not speaking for the government, okay?</p>
<h4 id="XkW4g0">Alex Ward</h4>
<p id="ZtzO5k">But you do advise President Moon and have an official title.</p>
<h4 id="yGYJfs">Moon Chung-in</h4>
<p id="6IXBSK">Yes.</p>
<h4 id="rC4ib0">Alex Ward</h4>
<p id="sPidcB">So you think that it would be wise for President Moon to tell Trump to accept the Hanoi deal, essentially Yongbyon’s verifiable dismantlement for sanctions relief?</p>
<h4 id="YyTH2R">Moon Chung-in</h4>
<p id="EKlSZ4">If South Korea were communicating with North Korea, we should be demanding several things.</p>
<p id="AnlQuS">First, invite international inspectors to the <a href="https://www.38north.org/2018/12/punggye121218/">Punggye-ri nuclear test site</a>. Second, urge North Korea to dismantle <a href="https://www.38north.org/2019/03/sohae030519/">Tongchang-ri</a> missile-engine test site and launching pad. Third, tell Pyongyang that in addition to the nuclear facility in Yongbyon, North Korea might have to come up with a “plus alpha” — meaning ending its high-enrichment uranium program perhaps located at <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2018/07/exclusive-revealing-kangson-north-koreas-first-covert-uranium-enrichment-site/">Kangson</a>. Fourth, we might ask North Korea to come up with a complete freeze of its nuclear activities.</p>
<p id="IwSw2R">If I were President Moon, and I’ve been telling him, we should demand those kinds of things from North Korea while asking the US to think about partially lifting <a href="https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-know-about-sanctions-north-korea">sanctions imposed from 2016 onward</a>. If that is not doable, then maybe at least we can move forward on Kaesong and Mount Kumgang.</p>
<h4 id="FeTNwF">Alex Ward</h4>
<p id="ss8E2P">It sounds like you’re saying the American stance isn’t helping President Moon’s desire for closer South Korean-North Korean relations.</p>
<h4 id="b73vPU">Moon Chung-in</h4>
<p id="uHdB4w">It’s been really harmful. <a href="https://www.usfk.mil/About/United-Nations-Command/">United Nations Command</a> has been much tougher on the North-South Korean transactions across the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The United States has put on a full-court press to confine South Korean interactions with North Korea.</p>
<h4 id="3BfWo8">Alex Ward</h4>
<p id="CpCtb4">What has been the Trump administration’s response to Seoul’s concerns?</p>
<h4 id="NcMYgO">Moon Chung-in</h4>
<p id="Hwo88D">I cannot tell you, but the United States has not accommodated South Korean requests.</p>
<h4 id="gW2unj">Alex Ward</h4>
<p id="vaLD0L">Why do you think that is?</p>
<h4 id="DkxZtO">Moon Chung-in</h4>
<p id="5qQQeC">Because this is the American position: North Korea must make very concrete steps toward complete denuclearization before anything else happens. No exceptions. There is no flexibility.</p>
<p id="o3sjUx">That is why North Korea is pounding the table: “You come up with more concrete proposals. Then we’ll consider attending working-level talks.” Pyongyang is extremely cautious. It doesn’t want another Hanoi.</p>
<p id="xoCKFZ">The Trump administration has to come up with a very concrete road map and time table for negotiating the settlement of the North Korean nuclear problem. But I don’t see any clear unity of purpose among the White House and bureaucratic agencies in dealing with North Korea. It’s no wonder why Pyongyang is so confused.</p>
<h4 id="S8jiui">Alex Ward</h4>
<p id="o7cRNh">Is South Korea confused about the US handling of North Korea?</p>
<h4 id="VROH7G">Moon Chung-in</h4>
<p id="KGj2Ql">We are somewhat confused, because on the one hand we had the expectation that the United States would come up with a more flexible approach toward North Korea, but on the other hand we haven’t seen any realization of this flexible approach. Our general understanding is that the US has not sent a very clear signal to Pyongyang.</p>
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<img alt="Kim and Moon raise their held hands aloft in celebration alongside their wives." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/xiSiFiaZ21PfIrmOWwm4pMsFwfA=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19225431/1036218190.jpg.jpg">
<cite>Pyongyang Press Corps/Pool/Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>North Korean leader Kim Jong Un poses with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on the top of Mount Paektu in North Korea on September 20, 2018.</figcaption>
</figure>
<h4 id="Fp2q1q">Alex Ward</h4>
<p id="r2YOqT">That’s a problem, because North Korea’s deadline for a deal is the end of the year. But from my vantage point — speaking with American and South Korean officials — it doesn’t look like we’re close to a deal and everyone will miss the deadline. </p>
<p id="e9h5c1">Is that your view as well? And if so, what is the plan if that deadline is missed?</p>
<h4 id="UveJPG">Moon Chung-in</h4>
<p id="28KDJC">If there is no deal between Kim and President Trump by the end of the year, then Kim must offer a new way forward to the North Korean people. He has to, just for his own domestic politics. Therefore I am somewhat worried we may miss the deadline.</p>
<h4 id="AdaDcF">Alex Ward</h4>
<p id="LaF2LO">Are you confident at all that they’ll make a deal before 2020?</p>
<h4 id="QZWuD6">Moon Chung-in</h4>
<p id="O0Bfij">It’s not a matter of confidence, it’s a matter of mandate. To avoid a disastrous outcome on the Korean Peninsula, Trump and Kim must come up with more workable proposals and produce tangible outcomes. But after working on it for more than a year, there haven’t been any tangible successes. </p>
<p id="OL13yl">Both leaders now need at least a small step forward. That’s the most important thing to focus on. North Korea won’t accept the “big deal” right now.</p>
<h4 id="rtZK3b">Alex Ward</h4>
<p id="aH4Tse">You mean the final, fully verified dismantling of North Korea’s nuclear program before receiving economic benefits?</p>
<h4 id="cyBWAn">Moon Chung-in</h4>
<p id="91PvFf">Right, that won’t work. There should be some compromise. As I pointed out, the North Korean proposal is a sensible proposal, but it will be very difficult for the US to accept it because it’s less than its stated position. </p>
<h4 id="r28n4r">Alex Ward</h4>
<p id="VTEP2R">So if a nuclear deal might not be made by the end of the year, could something else be done?</p>
<h4 id="PQvBzg">Moon Chung-in</h4>
<p id="rrEPtB">I have been arguing for diplomatic normalization. The US could offer that up right now. </p>
<h4 id="gbnuQn">Alex Ward</h4>
<p id="pDfsTu">By that do you mean a peace deal of some sort?</p>
<h4 id="EXKdP3">Moon Chung-in</h4>
<p id="sIGO9W">No, I mean diplomatic normalization.</p>
<h4 id="H7fr7h">Alex Ward</h4>
<p id="EuvImo">Embassies?</p>
<h4 id="rb1OmJ">Moon Chung-in</h4>
<p id="9GOYHP">Embassies.</p>
<h4 id="Nvu4C3">Alex Ward</h4>
<p id="cDJbhZ">So you want an American embassy in Pyongyang and a North Korean embassy in Washington?</p>
<h4 id="M86HwN">Moon Chung-in</h4>
<p id="Xb3FTW">Yes, and in return North Korea should come up with some concrete progress toward denuclearization. That could be a very important starting point. We’ve got to be more imaginative and come up with some proposals which have not been heard of in the past.</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="People in front of a TV screen watching the missile test." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/xJxzhTlIDKzC32FcVphjM1aFVpo=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19225441/1159922294.jpg.jpg">
<cite>Jung Yeon-je/AFP/Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>People watch a television news screen showing a file footage of North Korea’s missile launch, at a railway station in Seoul on August 6, 2019.</figcaption>
</figure>
<h4 id="9LhN9E">Alex Ward</h4>
<p id="HQY5uf">Many would surely be skeptical of not only making that kind of deal but doing it before the end of the year. Is it wrong to be skeptical of that?</p>
<h4 id="EuIQ00">Moon Chung-in</h4>
<p id="sLM7sk">I don’t think it’s wrong. But the hope is President Moon will mention some creative proposals to Trump during their Monday meeting at the UN. I don’t know to what extent Trump would accept them, but he wants a surprising approach, not old ones.</p>
<h4 id="2sqQdv">Alex Ward</h4>
<p id="4FBscl">Trump is definitely open to new ways of handling foreign policy.</p>
<h4 id="MSl8TX">Moon Chung-in</h4>
<p id="9qQztS">I agree with you.</p>
<h4 id="TzTiiy">Alex Ward</h4>
<p id="g8QZ2k">What percentage chance would you give the US and North Korea making some kind of deal by year’s end. Not the big, final deal, just any deal to move things forward?</p>
<h4 id="eZMyHL">Moon Chung-in</h4>
<p id="R7mF7E">More than 70 percent.</p>
<h4 id="p5T78T">Alex Ward</h4>
<p id="Bij2AO">Really? 70? Seven-zero?</p>
<h4 id="FC6ayp">Moon Chung-in</h4>
<p id="MLZltm">Yes, and it’ll be meaningful. Not just a pro forma agreement on something that doesn’t really matter.</p>
<h4 id="wumALo">Alex Ward</h4>
<p id="0jHmPY">What does that meaningful deal look like? Yongbyon plus alpha?</p>
<h4 id="tdH68d">Moon Chung-in</h4>
<p id="mJyjc8">Yes, and maybe North Korea will propose a complete freeze of its nuclear activities in addition to freezing nuclear missile tests.</p>
<h4 id="hCQeqo">Alex Ward</h4>
<p id="x3On3o">So just to be clear, you’re saying there’s more than a 70 percent change that by the end of this year North Korea will agree to dismantle Yongbyon and perhaps freeze its nuclear development?</p>
<h4 id="weeqE9">Moon Chung-in</h4>
<p id="KgUntb">Yes, those are very workable propositions. But it all depend upon what kinds of corresponding measures the US can come up with.</p>
<h4 id="uIYJdH">Alex Ward</h4>
<p id="GQLIMo">And that would be partial sanctions relief, right?</p>
<h4 id="e1VXVF">Moon Chung-in</h4>
<p id="BoZg0o">Right.</p>
<h4 id="jO2X8m">Alex Ward</h4>
<p id="NojN0S">But in <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/2/28/18244324/trump-north-korea-deal-fail-kim-sanctions">Hanoi</a>, North Korea basically asked for all the most important sanctions to be lifted before dismantling Yongbyon.</p>
<h4 id="d1Em6q">Moon Chung-in</h4>
<p id="XLda1p">It’s a negotiation. </p>
<h4 id="QyP5Py">Alex Ward</h4>
<p id="juPIxO">A maximum one, in that case.</p>
<h4 id="QIt2pl">Moon Chung-in</h4>
<p id="itj8JO">Sure, but I would say North Korea wants partial sanctions relief enough that it may agree to resume working with South Koreans at Kaesong and the Mount Kumgang Tourist Project again.</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="An empty cafe at the Mount Kumgang tourism site." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/kn6UivG13paTaQgHPTMsgihdIvc=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19225463/922566900.jpg.jpg">
<cite>Eric Lafforgue/Art In All Of Us/Corbis via Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>Cafe Kumgang Chorong in the former meeting point between families from North and South Korea on September 13, 2011 in Kumgang, North Korea.</figcaption>
</figure>
<h4 id="kTdWjl">Alex Ward</h4>
<p id="JLkpNo">That, too?</p>
<h4 id="K6nfrY">Moon Chung-in</h4>
<p id="fmDB9j">And also some sort of political assurance involving diplomatic normalization talks between Washington and Pyongyang, plus some moves toward transformation of the armistice agreement into some sort of peace treaty. I think North Korea will want all of these things. </p>
<h4 id="JeyhnN">Alex Ward</h4>
<p id="bUFPCg">Well, yes, North Korea might want all of these things, but that’s a lot to agree to in such a short amount of time. What makes you so confident it will all happen?</p>
<h4 id="gzzJPz">Moon Chung-in</h4>
<p id="B5JtbX">The reason is very simple: President Trump wants some kind of deal and Kim wants some kind of deal. The two leaders are committed to making a deal, but the proposals of course must be mutually acceptable. I would say now they are going through the adjustment period of fine tuning their agendas. </p>
<p id="dO1ni4">For example: North Korean Vice Foreign Minister <a href="https://www.voanews.com/east-asia-pacific/north-korea-denuclearization-talks-possible-if-threats-removed">Choe Sun Hui</a> made it clear last week that Pyongyang will consider complete denuclearization if all the threats to her country are removed. Her statement is somewhat counter to what North Korean officials have been saying recently, which is “no denuclearization.” Her statement reversed the trend.</p>
<p id="wneg34">So what does that mean? North Korea wants some kind of deal with United States. Kim also knows that if they miss this chance with Trump or if they change course next year that it will have a completely different relationship with the United States. So they likely want to have some kind of deal before the end of this year. North Korea surely hopes Trump is reelected so they can keep progress going.</p>
<h4 id="XArW6F">Alex Ward</h4>
<p id="WPCTbz">So I get that you’re confident of a smaller agreement, but what do you believe happens if there is no progress at all by December 31?</p>
<h4 id="rJxxqS">Moon Chung-in</h4>
<p id="mI8ioT">Then we may go back to 2017 or a worse situation.</p>
<h4 id="nDNoNy">Alex Ward</h4>
<p id="JSbUpe">The “fire and fury” era, you mean?</p>
<h4 id="4Dd5i8">Moon Chung-in</h4>
<p id="PEOgnb">Sadly, yes.</p>
<p id="hE54Hr">The worst situation would be an American military attack on North Korea. I hope that would not take place. </p>
<p id="YhoUL0">But, from North Korea’s perspective, if there’s no deal, then it may start testing long-range missiles again and possibly its seventh nuclear bomb. At that point, what’s Trump’s option? He would have to deal with that kind of behavior very resolutely. Then we’re back to where we were two years ago: <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2018/2/7/16974772/north-korea-war-trump-kim-nuclear-weapon">bloody noses and threats of war</a>.</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="The painting shows Trump and Kim’s fingers on their respective nuclear buttons." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ILAOL1BlDL-vq6MAZrfWoy6fbe8=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19225474/1036194702.jpg.jpg">
<cite>Andia/Universal Images Group via Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>A painting on a float representing President Trump and Kim Jong-Un pushing the nuclear red button at the Basel Carnival in Switzerland, on July 25, 2018.</figcaption>
</figure>
https://www.vox.com/2019/9/23/20879955/north-korea-nuclear-trump-kim-moon-inAlex Ward2018-06-21T12:50:01-04:002018-06-21T12:50:01-04:00It sure looks like Trump is lying about his agreement with Kim Jong Un
<figure>
<img alt="President Donald Trump speaks at a rally in Duluth, Minnesota, where he may have lied about what he agreed to with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/2Q-Xf-P3EyNaySW6qF27UUgsdu0=/104x0:2769x1999/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/60138021/979761508.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>President Donald Trump speaks at a rally in Duluth, Minnesota, where he may have lied about what he agreed to with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. | Scott Olson/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It’s also possible Trump doesn’t <em>know</em> what he agreed to.</p> <p id="nqm3Gv">President Donald Trump either doesn’t know what he agreed to with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last week or he’s lying about it.</p>
<p id="AAzJnK">At a rally in Duluth, Minnesota, on Wednesday, Trump defended his decision to meet with Kim, bragging that he extracted a major concession from the dictator: “Sentence one says ‘a total denuclearization of North Korea,’” <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?447274-1/president-trump-holds-rally-duluth-minnesota&live&start=1065">Trump said</a>. “There will be denuclearization. So that’s the real story.”</p>
<p id="vSsvu3">His comment sparked massive cheers from the crowd. There’s just one problem: That’s not true.</p>
<div id="RFcEme"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PmfYB43lOGw?rel=0&start=1573" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="NTdyPb">Here’s what the first sentence of the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/6/12/17452532/trump-kim-document-agreement-full-text-denuclearization-read">agreement Trump and Kim</a> signed last week actually says: “President Donald J. Trump of the United States of America and Chairman Kim Jong Un of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) held a first, historic summit in Singapore on June 12, 2018.”</p>
<p id="6wo14K">Okay, so Trump’s boast about it being the “first sentence” was clearly wrong. But let’s give him the benefit of the doubt and say he misspoke. What he was obviously trying to convey was that he got Kim to agree to completely dismantle his country’s nuclear program, and that it will eventually happen.</p>
<p id="EJef4D">Well, here’s what the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/6/12/17452532/trump-kim-document-agreement-full-text-denuclearization-read">joint agreement</a> says on that: “Chairman Kim Jong Un reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.” It shortly afterward adds a vital caveat: “[T]he DPRK commits to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”</p>
<p id="BPYZbw">That is <em>not</em> the same as Kim agreeing to “a total denuclearization of North Korea.” Not at all. Not even close.</p>
<p id="lVNcS5">And it’s not just some picky semantic distinction here: Kim committing to the complete denuclearization of the <em>Korean Peninsula</em> (which he did) and Kim committing to the complete denuclearization<em> </em>of <em>North Korea </em>(which he didn’t) are two very different things. </p>
<p id="byKVlH">“Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula” is a phrase the North Koreans like to use a lot. What they mean by it: Pyongyang is willing to dismantle its nuclear program — if and only if South Korea also denuclearizes.<em> </em></p>
<p id="jaueuK">But South Korea doesn’t actually have its own nukes. What it does have, though, is what’s called the US “nuclear umbrella.” That basically means that the US promises to defend South Korea from the North — up to and including with the use of US nuclear weapons. There are 28,500 US troops currently stationed in South Korea to defend it from potential aggression from the North.</p>
<p id="BGuJEO">So what North Korea is essentially saying here is, “Sure, we’ll give up our nukes. Just as soon as you (Trump) withdraw all US military support for South Korea.” Pull your troops out of the country; stop promising to protect it. </p>
<p id="2Oe0Fw">That is a <em>very</em> different thing from Kim committing to just unilaterally give up his entire nuclear arsenal while US troops remain in South Korea, where they could easily launch an invasion and takeover of North Korea the minute they surrender their nuclear weapons.</p>
<p id="ETtddD">What’s worse, North Korea only promised to “work toward” that goal, not actually reach it. That leaves Kim a lot of room to wiggle out of this agreement if he wants to, something his country has done in <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/4/19/17256436/north-korea-trump-kim-moon-nuclear">past agreements</a>.</p>
<p id="j0ZRFt">It’s worth noting that earlier accords the US and North Korea signed were much stronger on the denuclearization issue. In <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/19/world/asia/text-of-joint-statement.html">2005</a>, North Korea said it was “committed to abandoning all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs.” That’s a much more specific commitment than Kim made this year.</p>
<p id="TRwSfs">It’s not surprising that something Trump said turned out to be false. But it’s very troubling if he is actually unaware of what he and Kim shook hands on. </p>
<p id="bkXFRo">If that’s the case, he may become disappointed and disenchanted with his diplomatic overtures to Kim. At that point, the <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2018/2/7/16974772/north-korea-war-trump-kim-nuclear-weapon">threat of war</a> becomes a real possibility once again.</p>
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https://www.vox.com/2018/6/21/17488552/trump-north-korea-kim-agreement-lieAlex Ward2018-06-15T10:40:02-04:002018-06-15T10:40:02-04:00Trump loves how North Koreans treat Kim Jong Un: “I want my people to do the same”
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<img alt="U.S. President Trump Meets North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un During Landmark Summit In Singapore" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Va4NX6fzAhdg9oOmSkJ_PTSSUKg=/443x0:4000x2668/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/60074559/971893830.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets with US President Donald Trump. | Kevin Lim/The Strait Times/Handout/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>It’s the latest compliment he’s paid the North Korean dictator. </p> <p id="19TUKQ">After President Donald Trump heaped lavish praise on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2018/6/12/17452810/trump-kim-summit-north-korea-great-fervor">intellect and personality</a> earlier this week <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2018/6/12/17452464/trump-kim-meeting-north-korea-agreement-denuclearization">following their historic summit</a>, he raised more eyebrows on Friday by suggesting that he wanted Americans to defer to him the same way North Koreans do to Kim. </p>
<p id="PZ6IWc">“He’s the head of a country, and I mean, he’s the strong head, don’t let anyone think anything different,” Trump said during an interview on <em>Fox & Friends</em>. “He speaks and his people sit up at attention. I want my people to do the same.” </p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Trump says he wants people to treat him like North Koreans treat Kim Jung Un. <br><br>Really. <a href="https://t.co/C0K7awpMIV">pic.twitter.com/C0K7awpMIV</a></p>— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) <a href="https://twitter.com/JuddLegum/status/1007607112128716801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 15, 2018</a>
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<p id="ixYDDu">When asked whether Kim could be a guest at the White House soon, Trump said, “I think it’s something that could happen.” He also seemed to tout Kim’s firing of multiple generals shortly before their meeting. “I think he fired at least [three generals],” Trump said. </p>
<p id="Gydq6e">These comments are the latest in a series of compliments Trump has given Kim in the wake of the summit between the two leaders on Tuesday. Trump had even joked during the summit that an anchor on North Korean state television, which broadcasts propaganda on behalf of Kim, praised Kim even more generously than Fox News did for Trump, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/why-cant-we-just-do-it-trump-nearly-upends-summit-with-abrupt-changes/2018/06/14/36e9cb2e-6fe6-11e8-bd50-b80389a4e569_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.1982bc130716">according to Washington Post reporting</a>. </p>
<p id="ZeegYd">Later on Friday morning, Trump clarified that he was only joking when he said that Americans should “sit up at attention” for him the same way North Koreans do for Kim. “I’m kidding. You don’t understand sarcasm,” he told reporters. </p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Trump claims he was "kidding" when he said moments ago that he wanted Americans to "stand at attention" for him like North Koreans do for Kim Jong Un. <a href="https://t.co/r0eE3ZyItL">pic.twitter.com/r0eE3ZyItL</a></p>— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) <a href="https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1007613140035661824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 15, 2018</a>
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<p id="FF6psY">Trump’s effusive praise of Kim, a brutal dictator, has stunned many. Republican lawmakers seemed to struggle with how to respond to this topic when pressed by <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/6/12/17448858/trump-kim-summit-praise-north-korea-republicans">Vox’s Tara Golshan earlier this week</a>. </p>
<p id="9423vq">North Korea’s history of human rights abuses is well-established. According to a <a href="https://www.ibanet.org/Article/NewDetail.aspx?ArticleUid=8ae0f29d-4283-4151-a573-a66b2c1ab480">2017 International Bar Association report</a>, there has been evidence of ”systematic murder (including infanticide), torture, persecution of Christians, rape, forced abortions, starvation and overwork leading to countless deaths,” and other crimes against humanity. That same report said that the Kim regime has “designed and perpetuated a brutal, totalitarian regime, a signature feature of which is a network of political prisons that has no parallel in the world today.”</p>
<p id="EKKBPZ"><a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-courts-kim-reminder-regimes-brutality-analysis/story?id=55901001">As ABC News points out</a>, Trump’s seeming veneration of Kim marks a significant turnaround from his remarks at the United Nations last fall. “No one has shown more contempt for other nations and for the well-being of their own people than the depraved regime in North Korea,” Trump said, at the time. “It is responsible for the starvation deaths of millions of North Koreans, and for the imprisonment, torture, killing, and oppression of countless more.”</p>
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/6/15/17467644/trump-kim-summit-fox-newsLi Zhou2018-06-14T14:20:01-04:002018-06-14T14:20:01-04:00Watch this campy North Korean propaganda video of the summit
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<img alt="Kim Jong Un waves goodbye as he gets on a plane to Singapore for the summit." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/e5rIvkEuXCmZa5HeLQi2hRihK3c=/148x0:977x622/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/60065293/Screen_Shot_2018_06_14_at_1.40.37_PM.0.png" />
<figcaption>Kim Jong Un waves goodbye as he gets on a plane to Singapore for the summit. | <a href="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8AwmdHH5-V4" target="_blank">SBS News</a></figcaption>
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<p>Featuring Kim Jong Un flying in a plane, Kim Jong Un looking at flowers, and other riveting scenes.</p> <p id="iYsKVJ">If you thought you’d seen all there was to see from this week’s summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, think again. </p>
<p id="QzDCGs">North Korean state media has released a propaganda video of the event, featuring 42 glorious minutes of behind-the-scenes footage. </p>
<p id="KlR2J0">Scenes include Kim taking off from the Pyongyang airport as dozens of uniformed members of the North Korean armed forces scream in unison, Kim studiously looking over notes as he flies through the clouds to Singapore, Kim landing in Singapore, Kim driving through the streets of Singapore, and Kim looking at flowers at a botanical garden in Singapore. </p>
<p id="OmOM2k">And that’s just the first 15 minutes.</p>
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<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/wQw1QdLKSxg6tV8Y6TQYZgCkUBo=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11539557/Screen_Shot_2018_06_14_at_1.29.12_PM.png">
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<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Kim Jong Un reads papers on the plane while flying to Singapore." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/DPadf8eFvPIPyqK5jhMXvw_YaPM=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11539227/Screen_Shot_2018_06_14_at_10.03.53_AM.png">
<cite><a href="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8AwmdHH5-V4" target="_blank">SBS News</a></cite>
</figure>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Kim Jong Un looking at flowers at a botanical garden in Singapore." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/mOaB9iYtNl-5IMD5DyczhUPdQLU=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11539363/Screen_Shot_2018_06_14_at_12.59.27_PM.png">
<cite><a href="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8AwmdHH5-V4" target="_blank">SBS News</a></cite>
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<p id="eCqtqZ">There’s also a shot of Kim lounging awkwardly in a hot pink velvet armchair at the St. Regis hotel, where he stayed the night before the summit.</p>
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<img alt="Kim Jong Un lounges in a hot pink velvet armchair." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/QdKSb478SNPXSg2uAdmRx61zNEQ=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11539449/Screen_Shot_2018_06_14_at_1.17.38_PM.png">
<cite><a href="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8AwmdHH5-V4" target="_blank">SBS News</a></cite>
</figure>
<p id="t74Jxp">The rest of the video shows the actual meeting between Trump and Kim — including behind-the-scenes footage the American and international press didn’t get to see, such as extended footage of the negotiations between the two sides and a particularly striking scene in which President Trump salutes a senior North Korean general, while Kim looks on.</p>
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<img alt="President Donald Trump and his advisers at the negotiating table with Kim and his advisers." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/mg1ACqYktZljLX-OzSYr54pWccY=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11539371/Screen_Shot_2018_06_14_at_1.05.15_PM.png">
<cite><a href="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8AwmdHH5-V4" target="_blank">SBS News</a></cite>
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<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="President Donald Trump salutes a senior North Korean general as Kim Jong Un looks on." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/mfSiWeLV7ydcszhlEx1XXupAL4U=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11539043/Screen_Shot_2018_06_14_at_12.18.31_PM.png">
<cite><a href="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8AwmdHH5-V4" target="_blank">SBS News</a></cite>
</figure>
<p id="JHppEw">The whole thing is narrated by a (presumably North Korean) woman, who is more excited to be narrating this video than you’ve ever been excited about anything in your entire life. </p>
<p id="rEPfK2">It’s all in Korean with no subtitles, but it really doesn’t matter — everything you need to know is conveyed through her ecstatic tone and the background music, which alternates from cheery sitar music to presidential parade music to music that sounds ripped straight from an Indiana Jones movie.</p>
<p id="ttND18">It ends with Kim‘s victorious arrival back home at Pyongyang airport, where he is greeted by a crowd of hundreds of North Korean party officials and citizens cheering, weeping, and waving little North Korean flags.</p>
<p id="tWaKVz">It’s everything a bloodthirsty dictator could want in a propaganda film.</p>
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<img alt="Hundreds of North Korean party officials cheer and wave small North Korean flags at Pyongyang airport to welcome Kim Jong Un back home after the summit." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/VEpmg39HwboEosn_n1I8I6Qq0AU=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11539625/Screen_Shot_2018_06_14_at_1.36.13_PM.png">
<cite><a href="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8AwmdHH5-V4" target="_blank">SBS News</a></cite>
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<h3 id="jhZ9pJ">The summit was a huge propaganda win for Kim</h3>
<p id="WMYRYN">North Korea’s leaders have long wanted to be seen as major players on the world stage and to be accorded the respect and legitimacy given to nuclear powers. And they’ve viewed a one-on-one meeting with the president of the United States as a crucial way to attain that status.</p>
<p id="z8s9TP">Yet <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/09/politics/north-korea-trump-obama-bush-clinton/index.html">successive US presidents</a> — from Bill Clinton to George W. Bush to Barack Obama — have refused to meet face to face with North Korea’s leaders (either Kim Jong Un or his father, Kim Jong Il, who ruled until his death in 2011) for just that reason.</p>
<p id="Mpddoz">“Since I came into office, the one thing I was clear about was, we’re not going to reward this kind of provocative behavior,” then-President Obama <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/09/politics/north-korea-trump-obama-bush-clinton/index.html">said</a> in 2013 about a possible meeting with Kim. “You don’t get to bang your spoon on the table and somehow you get your way.”</p>
<p id="EoMWMZ">But that all changed when Trump took office — in part because of Trump’s personality and his belief in his own negotiating abilities, but also because North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities dramatically accelerated to the point that the US was basically running out of options by the time Trump took office.</p>
<p id="4OqWGi">“Kim Jong Un is desperately looking for international recognition of North Korea as a country in good standing, of his right to rule it, and of the legitimacy of his possession of nuclear weapons,” Jeffrey Lewis, an expert on North Korea’s nuclear program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, wrote at <a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2018/06/10/the-photo-op-summit/">Foreign Policy</a>.</p>
<p id="vWgr0Q">Trump meeting with Kim, and praising his “<a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2018/6/12/17452616/trump-kim-jong-un-north-korea-summit">great personality</a>” in a press conference after the summit, certainly gives him that win.</p>
<p id="a9yFuh">But it’s actually more than that. North Korea didn’t give up anything major in the joint statement after the summit. The language is incredibly soft, with North Korea not making any major concessions to the United States. It’s considerably weaker, in fact, than what previous presidents had gotten during multilateral negotiations with the North.</p>
<p id="RXGQgV">“Each of the four main points was in previous documents with NK, some in a stronger, more encompassing way,” Bruce Klingner, a former CIA deputy division chief for Korea, <a href="https://twitter.com/BruceKlingner/status/1006443791966928896">tweeted</a> on Tuesday. “The [denuclearization] bullet is weaker than the Six Party Talks language.”</p>
<p id="XuVMwN">So Kim gave up nothing and got both a propaganda win and a pledge from the US to suspend military exercises with South Korea. It’s an incredible diplomatic coup.</p>
<p id="pXGx9T">The propaganda video just adds a bit of pizzazz. </p>
<h3 id="HYSWfp">You can watch the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8AwmdHH5-V4">entire video</a> below:</h3>
<div id="OEOC5v"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8AwmdHH5-V4?rel=0" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no"></iframe></div></div>
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https://www.vox.com/world/2018/6/14/17463590/north-korea-propaganda-video-trump-kim-summit-watchJennifer WilliamsZack Beauchamp2018-06-13T18:20:01-04:002018-06-13T18:20:01-04:00Trump was just nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. And it’s not the first time.
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<img alt="Donald Trump recently announced his intention to end birthright citizenship." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/oa-k85cYRNrL4I4f57yxjBbeYM8=/32x0:2776x2058/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/60055647/donald-trump-5.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Ty Wright/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Two Norwegian lawmakers nominated the president for his efforts to denuclearize North Korea.</p> <p id="LUClYg">Although President Donald Trump’s recent summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un didn’t actually result in clear plans for the <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2018/6/12/17452616/trump-kim-jong-un-north-korea-summit">country’s denuclearization</a>, two Norwegian lawmakers have just nominated the president for a Nobel Peace Prize.</p>
<p id="k8aONR">Two members of the country’s right-leaning political party, Christian Tybring-Gjedde and Per-Willy Amundsen, <a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/392058-two-norwegian-lawmakers-nominate-trump-for-nobel-peace-prize">nominated Trump</a> for the 2019 award because of his efforts to secure the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/6/12/17450974/trump-kim-jong-un-summit-winners">nuclear disarmament of North Korea</a>, according to <a href="https://www.nrk.no/urix/nominates-donald-trump-for-the-nobel-peace-prize-1.14083159">NRK</a>, Norway’s state broadcasting company.</p>
<p id="SFHkTV">“A process is underway to ensure world peace in the future. It’s a fragile process, but we must of course do what we can to help this process yield good results. I believe we can accomplish this by sending a clear signal, namely by awarding Trump the Nobel Peace Prize,” Amundsen <a href="https://www.nrk.no/urix/nominates-donald-trump-for-the-nobel-peace-prize-1.14083159">told NRK</a>.</p>
<p id="5o5Y2m">Although Trump and Kim signed a joint statement that establishes intentions to work toward peace between the two countries, there is <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2018/6/12/17452616/trump-kim-jong-un-north-korea-summit">little concrete evidence</a> that the document will lead to complete denuclearization in the near future.</p>
<p id="h34div">In May, 18 House Republicans <a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/house/385878-18-house-republicans-nominate-trump-for-nobel-peace-prize">also sent a letter</a> to the Norwegian Nobel Committee nominating Trump for the Peace Prize, which has a history of being awarded <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/10/who-are-the-american-recipients-of-the-nobel-peace-prize/447924/">to American</a> statesmen, like President Barack Obama in 2009, Vice President Al Gore in 2007, and President Jimmy Carter in 2002.</p>
<h3 id="EYqPVU">Trump’s nomination comes as a surprise to some</h3>
<p id="UOnn5D">The Peace Prize is <a href="https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/History">one of five Nobel prizes</a> and is awarded to a person who has “done the most or best work for fraternity between nations.” Anyone can be nominated for the prize.</p>
<p id="VRdmyj">Trump, though, frequently exchanges bellicose words with other world leaders and has <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2018/6/12/17448866/trump-south-korea-alliance-trudeau-g7">alienated</a> several US allies — making him an unconventional choice for the award. These past few months alone have been chaotic: Trump pulled the US out of <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2018/5/8/17328520/iran-nuclear-deal-trump-withdraw">the Iran nuclear deal</a>, has been <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2018/6/4/17424818/trump-trade-war-china-europe-steel">flirting with a trade war</a> with China, and attacked Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2018/6/11/17448560/trump-g7-summit-trudeau-north-korea">on Twitter following the G7</a> (Group of Seven) meeting. </p>
<p id="5WNcC4">Just a few months before the Trump-Kim summit, <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/948355557022420992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vox.com%2F2018%2F6%2F11%2F17429248%2Ftrump-kim-jong-un-north-korea-summit-letter">Trump also tweeted</a>, “North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the ‘Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times.’ Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!” (The button, it turns out, is <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2018/1/3/16844772/trump-north-korea-button-nuclear-taunt">not actually real</a>.) </p>
<p id="N5YM6C">So while it‘s monumental that an American president has now met face to face with a North Korean head of state, he still really has nothing of substance to show for it — and his legacy, thus far, has been marked by aggression and international isolation rather than constructive efforts toward peace. </p>
<p id="qJWuKe">In short, it’s probably a smidge too early to start handing Trump any awards for peace. </p>
https://www.vox.com/world/2018/6/13/17460606/donald-trump-nobel-peace-prize-north-korea-kimMadeleine Ngo2018-06-13T15:10:02-04:002018-06-13T15:10:02-04:00Otto Warmbier’s parents are hopeful after the Trump-Kim summit. But they’re still suing North Korea.
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<img alt="Fred and Cindy Warmbier" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/bUIl5rle-TU8VfVpB27Rt1GXjLE=/463x0:4158x2771/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/60052329/GettyImages_675476492.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Fred and Cindy Warmbier, parents of college student Otto Warmbier who was incarcerated in North Korea, stand in their home. | The Washington Post/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Warmbier’s parents said they were hopeful for something “positive” to come from their son’s death following the summit.</p> <p id="qUamON">The US and North Korea are suddenly on much <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/6/12/17450974/trump-kim-jong-un-summit-winners">warmer terms</a> — but the parents of Otto Warmbier, the 22-year-old college student who died last year after he was imprisoned in North Korea, are still suing the country.</p>
<p id="L0XY3Z">President Donald Trump was full of kind words for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un after meeting him at <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2018/6/12/17452616/trump-kim-jong-un-north-korea-summit">a historic summit</a> in Singapore earlier this week. At a <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2018/6/12/17452624/trump-kim-summit-transcript-press-conference-full-text">press conference</a>, he described the North Korean leader as “very smart” and said Kim “wants to do the right thing.” </p>
<p id="cHn70f">When a reporter asked Trump how he was comfortable praising the man who was responsible for Warmbier’s death, <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2018/6/12/17452624/trump-kim-summit-transcript-press-conference-full-text">Trump defended his comments and responded</a>, “I think without Otto this would not have happened. Something happened from that day — it was a terrible thing. It was brutal.” He continued, saying, “Otto did not die in vain. He had a lot to do with us being here today.”</p>
<p id="17FNmQ">Cindy and Fred Warmbier, the college student’s parents, released a <a href="http://thehill.com/policy/international/391871-otto-warmbiers-parents-hope-something-positive-will-come-after-north">statement</a> to the press after the summit saying that they “appreciate President Trump’s recent comments about our family. We are proud of Otto and miss him. Hopefully something positive can come from this.”</p>
<p id="SFtYxl">But lawyers of the family said the new relationship between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un will not halt their pursuits to sue North Korea for Warmbier’s wrongful death. </p>
<p id="1Rg8JR">“The summit has no negative impact on the suit. We are moving full speed ahead and the family is eager to get before the district court,” Richard Cullen, the attorney for Warmbier’s parents, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/north-korea/otto-warmbier-s-parents-are-still-suing-north-korea-despite-n882501">told NBC News</a>.</p>
<h3 id="ZaMr3b">Otto Warmbier’s death continues to puzzle the world</h3>
<p id="6I1l5f">Warmbier visited North Korea on a guided tour in 2016 and <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/timeline-otto-warmbiers-saga-north-korea-released/story?id=48015088">on the same day</a> the group was planning to fly out, the University of Virginia student was arrested for allegedly <a href="https://www.vox.com/2016/1/22/10814022/north-korea-student-arrest-otto-frederick-warmbier">stealing a propaganda poster</a>. </p>
<p id="F3ptUt">After being detained for 15 months, Warmbier was released to the US in a comatose state in June 2017. North Korea claims he was left in a coma because of a food poisoning disease called botulism, but doctors were strangely <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2017/6/15/15808810/north-korea-pyongyang-otto-warmbier-torture-abuse-coma">unable to identify</a> any trace of botulism or the cause of his deathly injuries.</p>
<p id="J9xh1O">Although <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2017/06/21/asia/north-korea-bae-warmbier/index.html">many have speculated</a> that Warmbier was tortured, leaving him <a href="https://www.vox.com/latest-news/2017/6/19/15833780/otto-warmbier-north-korea-death-america-torture-injuries">unable to speak, see, or respond</a> to verbal commands, there is <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/06/15/533054112/otto-warmbier-suffered-extensive-loss-of-brain-tissue-no-sign-of-botulism">no medical evidence</a> proving physical abuse.</p>
<p id="yFo02T">The family first announced the lawsuit against the North Korean government in April on claims that the country <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/north-korea/otto-warmbier-s-parents-are-still-suing-north-korea-despite-n882501">violated international law</a> by torturing their son and forcing him to confess. </p>
<p id="SkswI6">Prior to the summit, the US public had speculated whether or not Trump would bring up human rights issues while sitting face-to-face with <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/11/world/asia/north-korea-human-rights.html">an abusive dictator</a> who assassinates his family members, deliberately starves North Korean citizens, and orders executions at his own free will. </p>
<p id="4fEIn7">But when asked repeatedly by reporters at the press conference if he would address human rights issues with Kim in the future, <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2018/6/12/17452624/trump-kim-summit-transcript-press-conference-full-text">Trump said</a> it will “be discussed more in the future,” but gave no definitive timeframe or answer.</p>
<p id="v6GYiE">During the same press conference, he also said that human rights was only discussed briefly because “<a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2018/6/12/17452624/trump-kim-summit-transcript-press-conference-full-text">nuclear is always number one to me.</a>”</p>
https://www.vox.com/world/2018/6/13/17458460/otto-warmbier-parents-donald-trump-kim-summit-north-koreaMadeleine Ngo2018-06-13T13:30:02-04:002018-06-13T13:30:02-04:00The big winner of the Trump-Kim summit? China.
<figure>
<img alt="US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands prior to a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany, July 8, 2017." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/EHoomk6fXO6rk6XTJ0MBDwjbvGw=/0x0:2745x2059/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/60050493/GettyImages_810758844.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands prior to a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany, on July 8, 2017. | Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>China got exactly what it wanted from Trump at the North Korea summit.</p> <p id="hlwavj">BEIJING — The <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2018/6/12/17452616/trump-kim-jong-un-north-korea-summit">concessions</a> President Trump floated during his <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2018/6/12/17452616/trump-kim-jong-un-north-korea-summit">historic summit</a> with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are drawing <a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/391959-with-caveats-republicans-praise-trumps-summit-with-kim-jong-un">growing criticism</a> from members of Trump’s own party, who argue that Trump gave up too much during the talks.</p>
<p id="3l8vJC">Chinese officials, by contrast, couldn’t be happier with Trump’s pledge to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/12/asia/singapore-summit-intl/index.html">halt joint military exercises</a> with South Korea and eventually withdraw the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-missiles-usa-military/us-troops-in-south-korea-not-on-the-table-in-initial-north-korea-talks-idUSKBN1IA2M7">28,500 American troops</a> stationed there.</p>
<p id="RW1P53">“We have always believed that the use of force, or the threat of the use of force, is not a good thing,” Yu Dunhai, a counselor in China’s foreign ministry, told me during a roundtable with a small group of reporters here.</p>
<p id="cbu6yw">Yu said that the Singapore summit itself — and the fact that the US and North Korea have committed to holding ongoing talks — meant that Washington didn’t need to keep troops in South Korea much longer.</p>
<p id="thj1gI">“If North Korea is no longer an issue, what’s the purpose to still have the troops there?” Yu asked. “If there is no terrorist, if there is no enemy, why do we need those troops?”</p>
<p id="sJTaKT">Beijing has long wanted the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/12/asia/singapore-summit-intl/index.html">US to withdraw those forces</a>, and it seems that Trump now feels the same way. “I want to get our soldiers out,” the president <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/12/trump-kim-meeting-press-conference-637544">told</a> reporters after his meeting with Kim Tuesday, though he <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/12/trump-kim-meeting-press-conference-637544">cautioned</a> that a withdrawal “wasn’t part of the equation right now.”</p>
<p id="66Ia7L">That wasn’t Trump’s only gift to China. Last November, Beijing <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-missiles-china-usa/china-says-dual-suspension-proposal-still-best-for-north-korea-idUSKBN1DG10Y">proposed</a> that Washington suspend its military drills with South Korea in exchange for North Korea agreeing to freeze its nuclear program. Trump <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-missiles-china-usa/china-says-dual-suspension-proposal-still-best-for-north-korea-idUSKBN1DG10Y">flatly rejected</a> the idea at the time. After meeting with Kim, however, the president effectively adopted the Chinese proposal.</p>
<p id="QM7aOp">“We will be stopping the war games, which will save us a tremendous amount of money,” Trump <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2018/6/12/17452624/trump-kim-summit-transcript-press-conference-full-text">said</a> Tuesday. “Plus, I think it’s very provocative.”</p>
<p id="N6Tm63">Yu said Trump was right to look for ways of addressing what Yu called “the legitimate security concerns of North Korea” over the military exercises and US troop presence. Left unsaid was the fact that American concessions on either issue will be a big win for China too.</p>
<h3 id="aZ0jA2">Beijing won big at Trump’s North Korea summit</h3>
<p id="Z0qmKv">The <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2018/6/12/17451978/trump-kim-summit-photos-pictures-handshake-meeting-singapore">pageantry of Trump’s meeting with Kim</a> — from their handshake to the image of the two men and their teams literally sitting across from each other at the negotiating table — was front-page news on China’s state-run newspapers and the lead story on its state-run TV stations.</p>
<p id="J8J6v2">None of the articles I read noted that Trump’s description of the joint US-South Korean military exercises as “war games” echoed decades of North Korean propaganda. American and South Korean officials have long said the drills are <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2018/03/the-foal-eagle-show-goes-on-with-north-korea-diplomacy-in-the-background/">purely defensive in nature</a>, though Pyongyang has always argued that they’re really preparations for a future invasion of the North.</p>
<p id="FpljQ9">Trump’s talk of halting those drills and withdrawing the US troops who take part in them sparked immediate criticism from several Republicans.</p>
<p id="PKGTln">Sen. Lindsey Graham (SC), one of the most hawkish Republican senators, told <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/video/sen-graham-china-is-trying-to-play-president-trump-though-north-korea/"><em>CBS This Morning</em></a> that “the one thing I would object to violently is withdrawing our forces from South Korea.”</p>
<p id="jjiejK">“China is trying to play President Trump through North Korea,” Graham added. “If we withdraw our forces and that’s part of the deal, I can’t support the deal. That will lead to more conflict, not less.”</p>
<p id="GWPfEB">Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), for her part, took issue with Trump’s apparent willingness to halt the drills.</p>
<p id="tKpdFX">“I don’t think that’s wise because we have done these exercises for years,” Ernst <a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/391842-gop-senator-questions-suspension-of-joint-military-exercises-with-south-korea">told reporters</a> Tuesday. “I would just ask the president, why do we need to suspend them? They are legal.”</p>
<p id="uXW5YI">Trump’s comments also <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/12/world/asia/trump-military-exercises-north-south-korea.html">surprised</a> officials at the Pentagon, who said they would continue to plan an upcoming <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/12/world/asia/trump-military-exercises-north-south-korea.html">joint exercise</a> called Ulchi Freedom Guardian unless the president or others in the chain of command ordered them to postpone or cancel the drill.</p>
<p id="1ezOnO">Lt. Col. Jennifer Lovett, a US military spokesperson in South Korea, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/12/world/asia/trump-military-exercises-north-south-korea.html">told</a> the New York Times that US commanders had received “no updated guidance on execution or cessation of training exercises” and would press ahead until they heard differently.</p>
<h3 id="z0JqWj">Beijing sees Trump as the wisest of emperors</h3>
<p id="TXGClR">During our roundtable here, Yu returned again and again to the idea that North Korea’s longstanding concerns about being invaded or attacked by the US and South Korea — and that the two countries are actively plotting to overthrow the Kim regime — are legitimate fears that need to be addressed as part of the talks.</p>
<p id="17mSmN">An experienced diplomat, Yu couched almost all of his comments in flattery for Trump and Kim. Their willingness to meet in person, Yu said, changed the equation after decades of enmity between Washington and Pyongyang.</p>
<p id="g2RBwq">We pressed him on whether Beijing was alarmed by Trump’s talk of a <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2018/5/3/17270606/china-us-trade-war-tariffs-trump">trade war with China</a> or his <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2018/5/3/17270606/china-us-trade-war-tariffs-trump">shifting positions</a> on whether China is an ally, an adversary, or some combination of the two. </p>
<p id="KBpTIU">Yu answered with a parable from China’s long history of imperial rule: “A very kind emperor may not be a very good one,” he said. “[Being] morally good may not be enough. Sometimes you need more to overcome the obstacles.”</p>
<p id="MQgors">The Chinese diplomat didn’t mention Trump’s name, but he didn’t have to. In Beijing’s eyes, Trump is handling North Korea exactly how officials like Yu have always hoped an American president would deal with the rogue nation. The question now is whether that approach will be good for the US as well.</p>
<p id="qaKzRc"><em>The author of this article wrote it while on a trip to China sponsored by the </em><a href="https://www.cusef.org.hk/about-us/"><em>China-United States Exchange Foundation (CUSEF)</em></a><em>, a privately</em><em> </em><em>funded nonprofit organization based in Hong Kong that is dedicated to “facilitating open and constructive exchange among policy-makers, business leaders, academics, think-tanks, cultural figures, and educators from the United States and China.” Vox.com’s reporting, as always, is independent.</em></p>
<p id="51Deyg"></p>
https://www.vox.com/world/2018/6/13/17458944/trump-kim-summit-china-response-south-korea-military-drillsYochi Dreazen2018-06-12T17:10:01-04:002018-06-12T17:10:01-04:00We asked 9 Republican senators if it was appropriate for Trump to praise Kim Jong Un
<figure>
<img alt="Senate Lawmakers Address The Press After Their Weekly Policy Luncheons" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/oPiCG-53aBHJvtJ1XId1CeG4Plw=/0x0:2667x2000/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/60039419/906165460.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Sen. Cory Gardner was asked three times if it was appropriate for Trump to compliment Kim Jung Un. | Alex Wong/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Senate Republicans are trying to avoid the fact that Trump effusively praised a brutal dictator.</p> <p id="fyuypz">Senate Republicans are struggling to find a way to defend President Donald Trump’s acclaim for North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. </p>
<p id="3NDXYx">Trump told <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2018/6/12/17452810/trump-kim-summit-north-korea-great-fervor">ABC News</a> “you see the fervor” in North Koreans’ “love” for their leader, whom he called “very talented” after their historic <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2018/6/12/17452464/trump-kim-meeting-north-korea-agreement-denuclearization">summit</a> in Singapore.</p>
<p id="TsFIzs">They were shocking comments for those following the human rights situation in North Korea. The country ranks 167th out of 167 in the Economist’s <a href="https://www.eiu.com/topic/democracy-index">Democracy Index</a>, and 180th out of 180 in the Heritage Foundation’s <a href="https://www.heritage.org/index/ranking">Index of Economic Freedom</a>. A <a href="https://www.ibanet.org/Article/NewDetail.aspx?ArticleUid=8ae0f29d-4283-4151-a573-a66b2c1ab480">2017 International Bar Association report</a> cited evidence of ”systematic murder (including infanticide), torture, persecution of Christians, rape, forced abortions, starvation and overwork leading to countless deaths,” and other crimes against humanity. The United Nations said the conditions in North Korea are unparalleled in the world.</p>
<p id="V1UXuZ">Some Senate Republicans cited Kim as a “despot tyrant,” but others were reluctant to weigh in on the president’s apparent esteem for the North Korean leader.</p>
<p id="t5Fm4Q">“Look, I think we all know the president uses a lot of hyperbole,” Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), once a fierce Trump critic, told Vox.</p>
<p id="gd0EDc">Trump acknowledged the humanitarian crisis by calling it a “rough situation over there” but equivocated conditions in North Korea with those in other parts of the world. “It’s rough in a lot of places, by the way, not just there,” he told the press Tuesday.</p>
<p id="SM8ASI">Vox asked nine Republican senators whether it was appropriate for Trump to say that the people of North Korea love their leader and support him with “fervor.” Here are the transcripts of those exchanges, lightly edited for length and style.</p>
<h3 id="LgSbR8">Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO): “I think what we have is a summit where Kim Jong Un agreed to denuclearization”</h3>
<h4 id="zdgRgM">Tara Golshan</h4>
<p id="wNiPWs">Was it appropriate for the president to say that the people of North Korea love their leader?</p>
<h4 id="pVuPsC">Cory Gardner</h4>
<p id="Cy59Qs">Look, I think what we have is a summit where Kim Jong Un agreed to denuclearization. Hopefully, that advances peace. Clearly, there is more work to be done. Obviously, we need more information on the details of the summit —</p>
<h4 id="8OOuwH">Tara Golshan</h4>
<p id="PFLdfe">But was it appropriate for the president to say that the people of North Korea love their leader?</p>
<h4 id="Hust3h">Cory Gardner</h4>
<p id="CqfGMX">I hope what we focus on is the fact that we are moving toward denuclearization, which will address many of the egregious actions that the heinous regime has carried out.</p>
<h4 id="ORvcSB"> Tara Golshan</h4>
<p id="OE5e5E">So do you think it was appropriate for the president to say?</p>
<h4 id="OPBFVX">Cory Gardner</h4>
<p id="TZNmO5">[Walks into closed-door meeting]</p>
<h3 id="Ai9Onl">Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA): “The president is entitled to say what he wants to say. This is America.”</h3>
<h4 id="HsIN4M">Tara Golshan</h4>
<p id="LhGp2t">Did you find it appropriate for the president to say that the people of North Korea love Kim Jong Un?</p>
<h4 id="8WDi3L">John Kennedy</h4>
<p id="hbMmNj">I don’t have a comment on that. I wasn’t there. I don’t know the context. The president is entitled to say what he wants to say. This is America.</p>
<h3 id="4gP0XM">Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN): “We all know the president uses a lot of hyperbole”</h3>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Secretary Of State Mike Pompeo Testifies To Senate Foreign Relations Committee On State Department Budget Request" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/pUl7_9wN2ZlLn9eKcZImP1TAfNM=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11526025/962091250.jpg.jpg">
<cite>Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Bob Corker used to be a fierce critic of Trump’s.</figcaption>
</figure>
<h4 id="3t6NZ8">Tara Golshan</h4>
<p id="TMD8jH">Was it appropriate for the president to say that the people of North Korea love their leader?</p>
<h4 id="14s04E">Bob Corker</h4>
<p id="IU8EhE">Look, I think we all know the president uses a lot of hyperbole. </p>
<h4 id="wYKAnY">Tara Golshan</h4>
<p id="P8vCJv">Doesn’t that erase a lot of humanitarian concerns?</p>
<h4 id="NuW1Ek">Bob Corker</h4>
<p id="qorxnn">I don’t know. I don’t know. I just — that’s the nature. And we need to deal with the concrete things that have occurred, and hopefully we find out what those are.</p>
<h3 id="VQ5Mwq">Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK): “He did a great job over there”</h3>
<h4 id="Sb2DWm">Tara Golshan</h4>
<p id="AYWA5j">Did you find it appropriate for the president to say that the people of North Korea love their leader?</p>
<h4 id="jTGoOh">Jim Inhofe</h4>
<p id="3JTxqR">Now, I think he did a great job over there, and I’m glad it happened.</p>
<h3 id="UgC91j">Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS): “Um. Well, everything I know about Kim Jong Un is that he is a despot tyrant.”</h3>
<h4 id="vdPmSb">Tara Golshan </h4>
<p id="q2rmBG">On North Korea, was it appropriate for the president to say that the people of North Korea love their leader?</p>
<h4 id="aAzKDt">Jerry Moran</h4>
<p id="KZYSQr">Um. Well, everything I know about Kim Jong Un is that he is a despot tyrant and he is harmful to the people of North Korea.</p>
<h4 id="WWX011">Tara Golshan</h4>
<p id="DN6kNY">So when the president comes out of the summit and says this, does that give an indication about his concerns about the human rights abuses?</p>
<h4 id="VodHrW">Jerry Moran</h4>
<p id="LdeSKN">That’s not my understanding of what leader Kim Jong Un is.</p>
<h3 id="elcSH4">Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK): “Did he say that?”</h3>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Senate Armed Services Committee Holds Hearing On Situation In Afghanistan" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/QAWF1oX_3kY-VLJSzjxAiisotEY=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11526037/634417370.jpg.jpg">
<cite>Alex Wong/Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>Sen. Dan Sullivan hadn’t heard about Trump’s comments.</figcaption>
</figure>
<h4 id="lGnuJg">Tara Golshan</h4>
<p id="Nz4ed1">I wanted to ask, was it appropriate for the president to say that the people of North Korea love their leader and support him with fervor?</p>
<h4 id="Xr3l4h">Dan Sullivan</h4>
<p id="uFj7rV">Did he say that?</p>
<h4 id="VG8mwa">Tara Golshan</h4>
<p id="lFoZYA">He did.</p>
<h4 id="WqMuHz">Dan Sullivan</h4>
<p id="Oj1lAP">I wouldn’t have said that, but ... [trails off]</p>
<h4 id="5cmA4p">Tara Golshan</h4>
<p id="fYU9PT">Does that erase any of the humanitarian concerns?</p>
<h4 id="tmzyd8">Dan Sullivan</h4>
<p id="xeUzk4">I think they raised humanitarian concerns, and we’ll continue to raise them too.</p>
<h3 id="1buuPY">Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ): “I mean, he’s a brutal dictator. Let’s call it what it is.”</h3>
<h4 id="kUK2Ke">Tara Golshan</h4>
<p id="UcpzeS">What did you make of the president’s comments after the summit when he said the people of North Korea love their leader and that they support him with fervor?</p>
<h4 id="PGSzSw">Jeff Flake </h4>
<p id="8koA2j">[Laughs] That’s not a statement I would have made. Statements like that — that he’s a very talented leader — I mean, he’s a brutal dictator. Let’s call it what it is.</p>
<h4 id="mGdSeM">Tara Golshan</h4>
<p id="EGMKfA">Is there concern that the United States won’t address the humanitarian concerns in the country?</p>
<h4 id="Dn6NNw">Jeff Flake</h4>
<p id="xcLiAn">There is concern — and I can understand separating that right now from the other, but that still doesn’t excuse using effusive language to refer to someone who is a very brutal dictator. And this wasn’t a one-off. This is happening again and again and again. Heaping praise on people like [Philippine President Rodrigo] Duterte or [Russian President Vladimir] Putin for their strong leadership when it’s really just brutal leadership.</p>
<h3 id="HfHxYn">Sen. David Perdue (R-GA): “I haven’t talked to the president yet”</h3>
<h4 id="PoKARH">Tara Golshan </h4>
<p id="pnybqM">Did you find it appropriate for the president to say that the people of North Korea love their leader and support him with fervor?</p>
<h4 id="31SozN">David Perdue</h4>
<p id="dgtfE7">Well, I haven’t talked to the president yet since he’s going to get back tonight. So I’m not going to comment on anything that reporting said.</p>
<h4 id="R2Axd3">Tara Golshan</h4>
<p id="1XN2RZ">Okay, he said that to the press.</p>
<h4 id="ZCxoj8">David Perdue</h4>
<p id="CPBSd0">Yeah. Thank you. </p>
<h3 id="A9PUHb">Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC): “No comment”</h3>
<h4 id="MgzmrM">Tara Golshan</h4>
<p id="CfGYaT">Was it appropriate for the president to say that the people of North Korea love their leader?</p>
<h4 id="x41T6z">Tim Scott</h4>
<p id="xAAl5b">I’ve got no comment on it.</p>
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https://www.vox.com/2018/6/12/17448858/trump-kim-summit-praise-north-korea-republicansTara Golshan