Quicktake
How Kim Jong Un and Trump Differ on Denuclearization
Trump Eases Tone on North Korea With Singapore Summit Back On
This article is for subscribers only.
Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un’s meeting in Singapore today seemed an unthinkable prospect just a year ago when the leaders of the U.S. and North Korea were exchanging insults and threats. The main topic will be denuclearization, but they appear to have different ideas of what that means and how long it might take. Overcoming those differences will be key to reaching a historic outcome.
The U.S. wants to see “complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization” of the Korean Peninsula. Known in the arms-control world as “CVID,” this would involve dismantling North Korea’s nuclear program and stripping Kim of the ability to make nuclear bombs in the future.