SINGAPORE (Reuters) - U.S.
President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged on Tuesday
to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula while
Washington committed to provide security guarantees for its old enemy.
The joint statement signed at the end of their historic summit in
Singapore gave few details on how either goal would be achieved but Trump
fleshed out some details at a news conference.
"President Trump committed to provide security guarantees to
the DPRK and Chairman Kim Jong Un reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment
to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," said the statement.
DPRK is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the formal name
of North Korea.
Trump said he expected the denuclearization process to start
"very, very quickly". U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and North
Korean officials would hold follow-up negotiations "at the earliest
possible date", the statement said.
Trump told the news conference that the process would be verified,
and that the verification "will involve having a lot of people in North
Korea".
He also said Kim had told him North Korea was destroying a major
engine-testing site used for missiles, but maintained international sanctions
on Pyongyang would stay in place for now.
Trump said joint military exercises with South Korea would be
halted. He said the move would save Washington a tremendous amount of money and
would not be revived "unless and until we see the future negotiation is
not going along like it should".
"Some things were agreed and not reflected in the
agreement," Trump said.
Kim earlier said the two leaders had a historic meeting "and
decided to leave the past behind. The world will see a major change."
However, several political analysts said the summit had yielded
symbolic, rather than tangible, results.
"It is unclear if further negotiations will lead to the end
goal of denuclearization," said Anthony Ruggiero, senior fellow of
Washington's Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank. "This looks
like a restatement of where we left negotiations more than 10 years ago and not
a major step forward."
The document made no mention of the sanctions and nor was there
any reference to finally signing a peace treaty. North Korea and the United
States were on opposite sides in the 1950-53 Korean War and are technically
still combatants, as the conflict, in which millions of people died, was
concluded only with a truce.
RUSSIA,
CHINA POSITIVE
But the joint statement did say the two sides had agreed to
recover the remains of prisoners of war and those missing in action so that
they could be repatriated.
China, the third party to the truce, said it hoped North Korea and
the United States could reach a basic consensus on denuclearization.
"At the same time, there needs to be a peace mechanism for
the peninsula to resolve North Korea's reasonable security concerns,"
China's top diplomat, state councillor Wang Yi, told reporters in Beijing.
Russia's deputy foreign minister said the Kremlin had a positive
assessment of the summit but "the devil is in the details", the Tass
news agency reported.
If the summit does lead to a lasting detente, it could
fundamentally change the security landscape of Northeast Asia, just as former
U.S. President Richard Nixon visit to China in 1972 led to the transformation
of China.
But Li Nan, senior researcher at Pangoal, a Beijing-based Chinese
public policy think tank, said the meeting had only symbolic significance.
"There is no concrete detail on the denuclearization of the
Korean peninsula and the provision of security guarantees by the United
States," Li said. "It is too early to call it a turning point in
North Korea-U.S. relations."
The dollar however jumped to a 3-week top and Asian shares rose on
news of the agreement.
Trump said he had formed a "very special bond" with Kim
and that the relationship with North Korea would be very different in the
future.
"People are going to be very impressed and people are going
to be very happy and we are going to take care of a very dangerous problem for
the world," Trump said.
He called Kim "very smart" and a "very worthy, very
hard negotiator."
"I learned he's a very talented man. I also learned that he
loves his country very much."
During a post-lunch stroll through the gardens of the Singapore
hotel where the summit was held, Trump said the meeting had gone "better
than anybody could have expected".
Kim stood silently alongside, but the North Korean leader had
earlier described their summit as a "a good prelude to peace".
Both men walked to Trump's bullet-proof limousine, nicknamed
"The Beast", and looked in at the rear seat, with Trump apparently
showing Kim something inside. They then resumed their walk.
OLD REGIMENTAL MESS
They had appeared cautious and serious when they first arrived for
the summit at the Capella hotel on Singapore's Sentosa, a resort island with
luxury hotels, a casino, manmade beaches and a Universal Studios theme park.
But, with cameras of the world's press trained on them, they
displayed an initial atmosphere of bonhomie as they met on the verandah of the
Capella, a refurbished 19th century British regimental officers' mess.
Body language expert said both men tried to project command as
they met, but also displayed signs of nerves.
After a handshake, they were soon smiling and holding each other
by the arm, before Trump guided Kim to the library where they held a meeting
with only their interpreters. Trump had said on Saturday he would know within a
minute of meeting Kim whether he would reach a deal.
After initial exchanges lasting around 40 minutes, Kim was heard
telling Trump through a translator: "I think the entire world is watching
this moment. Many people in the world will think of this as a scene from a fantasy...science
fiction movie."
As the two leaders met, Singapore navy vessels, and air force
Apache helicopters patrolled, while fighter jets and an Gulfstream 550 early
warning aircraft circled.
One of the world's most reclusive leaders, Kim visited Singapore's
waterfront on Monday, smiling and waving to onlookers, adding to a more affable
image that has emerged since his April summit with South Korean leader Moon
Jae-in.
The Swiss-educated leader, who is believed to be 34, has not left
his isolated country since taking office in 2011, apart from visiting China and
the South Korean side of the border Demilitarised Zone, which separates the two
Koreas.
But just a few months ago, Kim was an international pariah accused
of ordering the killing of his uncle, a half-brother and hundreds of officials
suspected of disloyalty.
But within his country, the summit is likely to go down well.
"Signing the joint statement would show North Korean citizens
that Kim Jong Un is not a leader just within North Korea but also in
international society, especially with his position equivalent to Trump,"
said Ahn Chan-il, a defector from North Korea who currently lives in the South.
(Additional reporting by Dewey Sim, Aradhana Aravindan, Himani
Sarkar, Miral Fahmy, John Geddie, Joyce Lee, Grace Lee, Matt Spetalnick and
David Brunnstrom in Singapore and Christine Kim in Seoul; Editing Raju
Gopalakrishnan)
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