Today’s
front-page news is about the meeting between President Trump and Chairman Kim
Jong-Un. And it can be summarised in two words: bold and positive. The US President
takes a good chunk of the credit because the initiative came from his side. But
the North Korean Leader – and the President of South Korea, Moon Jae-in – must
equally be recognised.
Conflict
resolution never follows a straight line. In the Korean case, after decades of
confrontation and impasse, one should not be surprised to see the route following
some unexpected turns. That was the case today.
Now,
both sides have to transform the positive move they took into concrete
negotiations and clear benchmarks. The benchmarks must be about confidence-building
measures. They concern both Koreas and the Americans, above all. But they
should seek to tranquilise the Japanese and the Chinese as well.
It
would be a mistake to be over optimistic. But it would also be a serious failure
not to accept that today’s event opens the door for serious discussions. The
leaders have created hope. Now, they must sustain it.
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