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SoKor Pundits Unhappy
U.S. President Donald Trump was left to talk up a poor deal on Tuesday afternoon as he emerged from a day of photo ops and brief discussions with North Korean leader Kim. Commentators worldwide were quick to point out that far from achieving a commitment to "complete, verifiable and irreversible" de-nuclearization that he had trumpeted ahead of the summit, Trump merely persuaded Kim to work "towards" de-nuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.Rome - not built Monday. While President Moon hailed the summit, conservative pundits in South Korea were unimpressed. [The] former chief of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, said, "The agreement made no mention of complete, verifiable and irreversible de-nuclearization or a deadline on nuclear dismantlement." What alarmed them more was Trump's throwaway promise to end "war games" with South Korea, which he described as "very expensive" and "very provocative." [He] denounced it as a "bombshell announcement." But more importantly, Trump didn't ask us for permission to make a promise!  [A professor] at Korea University said, "With the latest agreement, we can kiss goodbye to the prospect of North Korean denuclearization." [Another Professor] also weighed into the debate. "If joint South Korea-U.S. military exercises are halted, the role of the Combined Forces Command ends and U.S. troop numbers will naturally decline," he claimed.[Yet another Professor] went further, slamming the agreement as "the scam of the century that reflected 99 percent of North Korea's wishes." He pointed out that a close look at the agreement shows no binding commitments and only agreements in principle. No argument there, genius. So what? read on. [A]former chief presidential secretary for foreign affairs, said Trump "denied the value of the South Korea-U.S. alliance and the legitimacy of joint military drills. It looks like the alliance is on the road to dismantlement." Takes two to tango, buckaroo. [A cooler head] at the Institute for National Security Strategy was calmer. "It is true that the results are weaker than expected," he said. "It seems Trump got too greedy and settled for agreements in principle while failing to tackle the technical problems." I, too, am disappointed the Versailles Treaty wasn't signed the first day. But he admitted that the fact of the meeting itself and the atmosphere it creates should not be underestimated. "It's significant that North Korea and the U.S., which maintained hostile relations for decades, have taken steps to begin a new relationship," he added. I deleted the Korean names, because they wouldn't mean anything to you anyway. Hit the link if you're curious. I also figure word-searches by copyright queens are less likely to find something offensive. Posted by: Bobby 2018-06-13 |
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