Probably a bit early to celebrate.
North Korea has wanted this meeting for a long time but the US wouldn't commit to direct talks without confirmed pre-conditions. This isn't Trump convincing North Korea to come to the table. This is giving up a position of power and legitimizing a terrorist.
North Korea has prefaced that this talk would be about the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Most likely this means that North Korea will claim to denuclearize if the United States leaves South Korea, maybe also Japan. Leaving both countries would greatly diminish the US’s ability to project power in the area, and I think what we’d find is that within a few years, North Korea would have restarted their nuclear program if they ever really stopped. Removing the US out of the region would greatly play into the hands of China and Russia, who not only have helped North Korea skirt US sanctions, but likely are helping to orchestrate this move.
Trump doesn’t appear to understand how geopolitics work, and hasn’t shown an aptitude for things like power projection or soft power. Trump’s ego sees being the one to bring peace to the Koreas as outweighing any loss of status in the global order.
North Korea has wanted this meeting for a long time but the US wouldn't commit to direct talks without confirmed pre-conditions. This isn't Trump convincing North Korea to come to the table. This is giving up a position of power and legitimizing a terrorist.
North Korea has prefaced that this talk would be about the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Most likely this means that North Korea will claim to denuclearize if the United States leaves South Korea, maybe also Japan. Leaving both countries would greatly diminish the US’s ability to project power in the area, and I think what we’d find is that within a few years, North Korea would have restarted their nuclear program if they ever really stopped. Removing the US out of the region would greatly play into the hands of China and Russia, who not only have helped North Korea skirt US sanctions, but likely are helping to orchestrate this move.
Trump doesn’t appear to understand how geopolitics work, and hasn’t shown an aptitude for things like power projection or soft power. Trump’s ego sees being the one to bring peace to the Koreas as outweighing any loss of status in the global order.