by Daniel Carter
For the very first time, a sitting US president has met with the leader of North Korea. It was a historic event that was quickly spun by the mainstream media. According to the left-wing media, when Trump was talking tough to North Korea, he was a crazy person on the verge of starting WWIII. Now, when he sits down with Kim Jong-un, he is legitimizing a ruthless dictatorship. In the right-wing media, Trump received nothing but praise. Of course, when Obama was talking about meeting with Kim, the right-wing media blasted him. Obviously, the mainstream media cannot be trusted to present an objective analysis.
The meeting was a step in the right direction regardless of the president’s political affiliation. The summit was extremely cordial despite both men threatening nuclear war on each other for months prior to the meeting. Both leaders signed an agreement that stated that both countries would join efforts to build a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula. The agreement also stated that North Korea commits to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. This historical summit went a long way toward cooling down dangerous tensions between the two countries.
Who got the better deal? The US got North Korea to agree to “work toward” denuclearization. However, the commitment was neither firm nor detailed. North Korea got the US – the most powerful and offensive military in the world – to come to the negotiation table instead of resorting to invasion. Trump also committed to “security guarantees” for North Korea if they worked toward denuclearization.
Even with such a historic and seemingly positive event, I can’t help but feel a little pessimistic. I remember what happened to Libya, and so does Kim. After the US convinced Libyan leader, Muammer Gaddafi, to give up nuclear weapons in 2003, he was brutally murdered by NATO-backed rebels. Libya is now a failed state. Will denuclearization by North Korea lead to the same result?
It is possible that the US will use the same trick with Kim, but it will be much more difficult in this instance. China and Russia would most likely come to the aid of North Korea in the event of US invasion. But invasion would certainly be easier for the US and its allies if North Korea was denuclearized.
The US could also use this new agreement as a “red line”. If North Korea did not denuclearize, the US could use it as an excuse for invasion. Past agreements between the two countries have fallen through, but this time — with an ICBM-armed North Korea — there is much more at stake.
It is a fantastic sight to see these two countries talking through their differences, but much more time is needed to see how this plays out. The citizens of both countries and around the world should be hoping for a peaceful resolution. No matter what the deceitful media says, more communication is needed to avoid a catastrophic war.