Making or wasting time for Trump and Kim while Pompeo visits North Korea



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In many ways, Pompeo's trip to Pyongyang on Friday sets off a number of clocks for both the White House and the North Korean leader.

For Kim Jong Un, his window to offer something other than tangible measures. In the absence of public timelines on what it will or will not do and when, there will be something of a deadline that it will have to go through, say the experts from North Korea.

"Between now and mid-August, he has" David Maxwell, Colonel of the US Army Special Forces Retired and Fellow of the Institute of Korean American Studies

L & # 39; August exercise, named Ulchi Freedom Guardian, had been scheduled for a long time and the final planning with the military forces of several nations was well advanced when the White House decided to suspend it after the Singapore summit.
Trump said North Korea considered the exercises provocative, and that their suspension was important while the diplomacy seemed to be working

Last year, Ulchi Freedom Guardian involved 17,500 US soldiers, of which 3,000 were from the United States. Outside South Korea The exercises include preparation for practice in a scenario where the Korean peninsula moves from peace to a crisis phase to an open conflict, according to a defense official

"This puts Kim on the spot. until you shut up, "Maxwell told CNN. "If Pompeo brings back a statement about North Korea's nuclear capabilities, where they are, and what they have, or at least an agreement to provide accounting, that would be important." If it's completely destroyed, then things are done. "19659002]

Bringing Back Americans Dead

More than likely, however, is a scenario in which Kim returns Pompeo to Washington with another vague promise, but with something else who can satisfy Trump in the short term – – Part of the remains of American troops killed during the Korean War.

Trump had stated that Kim had committed to repatriate the remains shortly after the June summit. When Pompeo testified before a Senate Credits Committee last month, he acknowledged that the transfer had not yet taken place.

"We are determined to denuclearize, make no mistake", said Pompeo. "But we also intend to recover as much of the American remains as possible and we try to facilitate this as quickly as possible."

Maxwell says that North Korea's delay in return the remains n & # 39; is not an act of good "North Korea has already damaged its reputation with the remains, they should have returned them immediately, I heard that they have thousands of them and that they just hold them hostage. a responsible member of the international community, "he said.

" If they try to get concessions for these organizations as they did in the past, they will lose any form of support for these negotiations, it's a simple test: provide the remains. "

In conflict with the return of the remains, Pyongyang dismantles its nuclear program and offers the White House the opportunity to gaining another perspective as progress on the nuclear front stalls

had been a prisoner in May, experts warned that their situation should have no impact on nuclear talks, and urged Trump not to be distracted by a photo session.

Kim Jong Un, who spoke broadly about his ambitions, said Duyeon Kim, guest researcher invited to the Future Forum of the Korean Peninsula in Seoul.

"Kim Jong Un proved that the Korean peninsula denuclearized is looking for ways to manipulate the atmosphere in his favor. o be a wise negotiator and a strategic and tactical thinker, "she told CNN. "North Korea also thinks very long-term in its calculations, but unfortunately, Kim seems to have more cards to play than President Trump."

What is North Korea supposed to do?

Remain, there are more questions than answers regarding the commitments made by North Korea and the wording of any agreement to which it has subscribed.

"I do not know exactly what Mr. Pompeo will come back to, but I can promise you that North Koreans will try to slow down as much as possible," said Bruce Bechtol, a professor of political science at the university. State University of Angelo, who has written several books on North Korea.

"Whatever he gets will have to be written or the North Koreans will not respect it," says Bechtol.

Before leaving for Pyongyang, Pompeo tweeted that he "was anxious to continue our work towards a definitive and fully verified denuclearization of the DPRK, as agreed by President Kim." He was referring to the official name from North Korea: The Democratic People's Republic of Korea

However, until the White House or Pyongyang publish more details about their talks and any possible road map, the question of what Korea North Expect Really "

" At the end of the day, they have to accept something, they will not accept something that puts them at a serious disadvantage, "said David Schmerler, a research associate at the University of Toronto. Middlebury Institute of International Studies (MIIS) in Monterrey. "This whole process has proceeded without much transparency on both sides, obviously the North Koreans will not be transparent."

The White House, meanwhile, has issued divergent signals about progress and what it thinks of the North. Korea has or has not done so.

Trump continues to indicate the lack of tests of nuclear missiles or rocket launches to argue that things are going "well"! as he stated in a recent tweet

Pompeo was more circumspect.

"On this trip I am trying to fill in a few details about these commitments and continue the momentum towards the implementation of what the two leaders meanwhile. National Security Advisor John Bolton said that The administration had set a year's deadline for Pyongyang to break all its missile and weapon programs, and added that he was sure Pompeo would discuss it with the North Koreans.

Would that be possible?

"The estimates I have seen are enough fissile material for 60 to 70 warheads. "Given the fact that North Korea's nuclear weapons program is not very important, I think Mr. Bolton's estimate may be accurate."

He referred to the dismantling of the Soviet Union of Kazakhstan. nuclear weapons era program as a possible comparison. In 1992, the former Soviet state abandoned what was once the world's fourth largest nuclear stockpile as part of a process that took months of diplomacy and included two other Soviet states: the United States. Ukraine and Byelorussia

. "Of course, Kazakhstan has fully cooperated with us, leaving us with the biggest question: will North Korea cooperate transparently, fully and in a timely manner?"

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