MESOPOTAMIA NEWS “TODAYS TOP OF THE AGENDA” / LEFT WING US MAINSTREAM MEDIA “Kim may have saved Trump from himself” – Trump the Unreasonable” – While Kim is reasonable ! Trump, Kim End Hanoi Summit Early A second summit between U.S. President Donald J. Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un collapsed on Thursday over disagreements about sanctions relief for Pyongyang. Plans for a formal lunch and the signing of a joint agreement were called off, and President Trump left the Vietnamese capital (NYT) following a press conference. Trump said Kim sought the lifting of all international sanctions without agreeing to dismantle all of the country’s nuclear sites. The U.S. president said closing only the Yongbyon nuclear complex (WaPo) would still have left Pyongyang with a large weapons arsenal. South Korea expressed regret (Korea Times) over the summit’s abrupt conclusion but said it appeared the pair made “more meaningful progress than at any time in the past.” ANALYSIS “Kim may have saved Trump from himself by overplaying his hand and asking for full sanctions relief up front. US should link any sanctions relief with receipt of full accounting of relevant NK sites, schedule for denuclearization, specific steps toward that end, and verification,” tweeted CFR President Richard N. Haass. “[Trump’s] repeated claim to be in ‘no rush’ to reach a deal reflects a serious analytical error, since, despite a pause in nuclear and missile tests, North Korea’s nuclear program is in fact advancing by the day,” former U.S. National Security Advisor Thomas E. Donilon writes for Politico.

Trump, Kim End Hanoi Summit Early

A second summit between U.S. President Donald J. Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un collapsed on Thursday over disagreements about sanctions relief for Pyongyang.

Plans for a formal lunch and the signing of a joint agreement were called off, and President Trump left the Vietnamese capital (NYT) following a press conference. Trump said Kim sought the lifting of all international sanctions without agreeing to dismantle all of the country’s nuclear sites. The U.S. president said closing only the Yongbyon nuclear complex (WaPo) would still have left Pyongyang with a large weapons arsenal. South Korea expressed regret (Korea Times) over the summit’s abrupt conclusion but said it appeared the pair made “more meaningful progress than at any time in the past.”
ANALYSIS

“Kim may have saved Trump from himself by overplaying his hand and asking for full sanctions relief up front. US should link any sanctions relief with receipt of full accounting of relevant NK sites, schedule for denuclearization, specific steps toward that end, and verification,” tweeted CFR President Richard N. Haass.

“[Trump’s] repeated claim to be in ‘no rush’ to reach a deal reflects a serious analytical error, since, despite a pause in nuclear and missile tests, North Korea’s nuclear program is in fact advancing by the day,” former U.S. National Security Advisor Thomas E. Donilon writes for Politico.

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